TSLA attracted the highest options trading volume in the last 10 days
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is 15% higher at $193.45 this afternoon. The shares of the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer are getting a boost after China reportedly cleared the way for the company's Full Self-Driving (FSD) to roll out in the country.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news, in which people familiar with the matter said Musk's 24-hour visit to Beijing resulted in a tentative approval of the deployment of Tesla's FSD technology. In a separate report, Bloomberg revealed Tesla will use China-based Baidu's (BIDU) mapping and navigation technology to power the FSD feature.
Amid this news, call traders are piling on TSLA. So far today, 2.44 million bullish bets have crossed the tape, which is double the intraday average volume. New positions are being bought to open at the 20 most popular contracts, led by the weekly 5/3 200-strike call.
Tesla stock makes regular appearances on Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's list of stocks that have attracted the highest options volume during the last 10 days. Topping the list this time around, bearish bets were a popular choice over the last two weeks, with 11,884,235 calls and 14,101,839 puts traded. The weekly 4/26 170-strike call saw the most activity.
On track for its best day since March 2021, TSLA is looking to rewrite a dismal start to the year. Despite today's bounce, the security is still down 22.3% in 2024, though it's quickly closing this gap and is looking to close above its 80-day moving average.
Tesla stock looks ripe for a round of upgrades, too. Of the 30 analysts in coverage, just eight say "buy" or better. Plus, the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) elevated tally of 83 out of 100 implies it tends to outperform volatility expectations.