Monday’s Vital Data: Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Tesla Inc (TSLA)

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U.S. stock futures are falling sharply this morning, as the Trump-trade is finally beginning to unwind. With the failure of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal last week, Wall Street is beginning to have serious doubts about President Donald Trump’s ability to push through his more ambitious campaign promises, such as corporate tax cuts and deregulation.

Monday’s Vital Data: Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Tesla Inc (TSLA)The major market indices are in full retreat this morning, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.64%, of 132 points, while S&P 500 futures have plunged 0.79% and Nasdaq-100 futures have ripped 0.71% lower so far.

On the options front, volume arrived just above average on Friday, with about 15.3 million calls and 16.7 million puts changing hands, as put volume gained favor ahead of the weekend. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio came in at 0.69, while the 10-day moving average held at 0.67.

Driving Friday’s options volume, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) drew heavy call volume after the company posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Meanwhile, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw divided options activity Friday, but could see a lift in calls today following a Vetr upgrade. Finally, Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk tweeted about everything under the sun on Friday, including a new Model 3 video, the new Model Y, and Tesla’s new solar roof.

Monday’s Vital Options Data: Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Tesla Inc. (TSLA)

Micron Technology, Inc. (MU)

Semiconductor stocks have been hot recently, and Micron solidified its position in the marketplace with its second-quarter report on Thursday evening.

Micron said it earned 90 cents per share on revenue of $4.65 billion, topping expectations for 80 cents per share on sales of $4.6 billion. MU stock roared nearly 7.5% higher on the news, flirting with round-number resistance near $30 on Friday.

As a result, MU options traders flooded the shares with call activity. Total volume rose to 1.1 million contracts — a near-term high for the shares — while calls snapped up 76% of the day’s take. Looking out to the April series, the put/call open interest ratio has fallen to a perch of 0.62, as calls are added at a faster rate than puts for options set to expire within the next month. Peak call OI for the series currently numbers roughly 56,000 contracts at the deep in-the-money $25 strike, though OI is building at the $30 strike, where more than 20,000 contracts now reside.

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

AAPL stock finally battled its way north of resistance at $140 late last week, but short-term traders hold little faith that the shares will maintain this perch for long. Options activity on Friday was mixed, with calls only accounting for 55% of the 914,000 contracts traded on AAPL stock.

Meanwhile, AAPL is trading lower this morning, dipping back below $140 in premarket activity despite an upgrade to “buy” from “hold” at Vetr. Market headwinds could play a role in keeping AAPL stock’s upside limited, especially if an unwinding of the Trump-trade gains momentum in the wake of last week’s failed health-care vote.

Short-term options traders are certainly aware of the risk, as the April put/call OI ratio of 0.90 indicates that puts are gaining traction against calls. Peak call OI of 88,000 contracts currently rests at the April $140 strike, while peak put OI for the series totals 63,000 contracts at the same strike.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA)

Tesla’s Elon Musk stirred up considerable activity on Friday following an early morning tweet storm. The TSLA CEO said that the much-talked about Model Y was not arriving within the next year, but that it was certainly in the pipeline and that Tesla needed to focus on the Model 3 first. Musk also released a video of the Model 3 and said that the company would begin taking orders for its solar roof next month.

Despite quite a bit of positive momentum from Musk’s comments — TSLA added roughly 3.3% on the day — options traders remained reserved. Volume passed 367,000 contracts on Friday, with puts taking the lead by snapping up 51% of the day’s take.

Heavy put activity is nothing new to TSLA stock, however, as the shares currently sport an April put/call OI ratio of 1.41. Traders should keep an eye on the $260 level amid today’s broad-market selling pressure, as a close north of this technical level could have bullish implications for TSLA stock.

As of this writing, Joseph Hargett did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/03/monday-vital-data-micron-technology-inc-mu-apple-inc-aapl-tesla-inc-tsla/.

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