Thursday’s Vital Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Oracle Corporation (ORCL) and Tesla Inc (TSLA)

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U.S. stock futures are in rally mode this morning, as Wall Street continues to cheer what some are calling a “dovish” interest rate hike from Federal Reserve. The Fed raised its key fed funds rate to a range of 0.75% to 1%, as expected, but said that it would hike rates only twice more this year, versus expectations for a much more hawkish tone.

Thursday’s Vital Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Oracle Corporation (ORCL) and Tesla Inc (TSLA)On the economic data calendar, weekly jobless claims are due out ahead of the open, while reports on housing starts, building permits and the Philly Fed index are due later this morning.

Heading into the open, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.3%, with S&P 500 futures gaining 0.19% and Nasdaq-100 futures jumping 0.21%.

On the options front, volume rebounded back above average on Wednesday as options traders engaged in a bit of positioning ahead of the Fed rate hike. Overall, roughly 17.7 million calls and 13.5 million puts crossed the tape. Over on the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio plunged to 0.61 from Tuesday’s perch at 0.73, though the 10-day moving average edged higher to 0.64.

Turning to Wednesday’s volume leaders, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw increased call volume after RBC Capital boosted its price target on AAPL stock. Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) posted better-than-expected earnings and bumped its dividend, and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) announced it was raising $1.15 billion via stock and debt offerings to fund its Model 3 rollout.

Thursday’s Vital Options Data: Apple Inc (AAPL), Oracle Corporation (ORCL) and Tesla Inc (TSLA)

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

More bullish news on AAPL stock hit yesterday, after RBC Capital reiterated the shares at “outperform” and lifted its price target to $155 from $140. RBC told clients that it believes Apple’s services unit could provide a considerable tailwind for annual revenue. The news helped bump AAPL stock north of resistance at $140, and could bring in technical buyers over the short-term.

AAPL stock options traders were jazzed about the development. Total volume spiked to more than 921,000 contracts, with calls snapping up an above average 64% of the day’s take. Looking out to the April series, we find that AAPL stock is now trading north of both peak call and put open interest at the $140 strike, totaling 84,500 contracts and 50,000 contracts, respectively.

If stock can pull away from $140 over the next week, it could be major boon for AAPL bulls. Otherwise, look for Apple shares to get pinned near $140.

Oracle Corporation (ORCL)

ORCL stock is in rally mode this morning, gaining more than 6.6% in premarket activity. Traders are reacting bullishly to better-than-expected earnings after the close last night, where Oracle said it earned 69 cents per share on revenue of $9.3 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 62 cents a share on sales of $9.3 billion. Cloud sales came in at $1.2 billion. Oracle also announced a quarterly cash dividend of 19 cents per share, a 27% increase its prior dividend of 15 cents per share.

ORCL stock options traders were uncertain ahead of the event. Total volume came in at over 324,000 contracts, with calls only managing 53% of the day’s take. If ORCL’s gains carry over into the open, the shares would vault well north of peak April call OI, totaling 10,000 contracts at the $44 strike.

What’s more, the 9,300 calls open at the $45 strike could also fall by the wayside, leaving little in the way of potential options related resistance to hold ORCL stock in check.

Tesla Inc (TSLA)

Tesla was back in the headlines for a second day in a row. On Tuesday, rumors hit that Tesla was building a small SUV dubbed the Model Y, and today TSLA stock is gaining premarket after the company announced it was raising $1.15 billion to fund its Model 3 rollout. The cash will come from a combined offering of stock and senior notes, split between $250 million in common stock and $750 million in convertible senior notes due in 2022.

Options activity saw a bit of a bullish tilt on Wednesday, with calls accounting for 58% of the more than 211,000 contracts traded on TSLA stock.

Compared to yesterday, the April the put/call OI ratio edged slightly lower to 1.30 due to the added call volume, and could be a sign of shifting sentiment among short-term options traders.

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/thursday-vital-data-apple-inc-aapl-oracle-corporation-orcl-tesla-inc-tsla/.

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