Wednesday’s Vital Data: Apple, Micron Technology and Snap

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U.S. stock futures are mixed this morning. Only the Nasdaq is finding green in premarket action, getting a boost from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) ahead of today’s iPhone reveal party.

stock market todayAdditionally, a couple key economic reports will keep traders busy. Both the August producer prices report and the Fed’s Beige Book are scheduled later today.

Heading into the open, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are off 0.04%, with S&P 500 futures down 0.03%. Nasdaq-100 futures, meanwhile, are up 0.07%.

In the options pits, volume bounced back on Tuesday, but remained well below average. Overall, about 16.1 million calls and 12.9 million puts changed hands yesterday. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio ticked lower to 0.61, hitting another one-week low.  The 10-day moving average, on the other hand, hit a one month high at 0.62.

Options traders remained obsessed with Apple ahead of today’s iPhone release, while Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and Snap (NYSE:SNAP) were targeted by ratings shifts.

Let’s take a closer look:

Apple (AAPL)

Today’s the day. Investors are eagerly awaiting the lastest trio of iPhone models from Apple. Among them is reportedly Apple’s biggest and most expensive iPhone ever — an iPhone with a 6.5-inch OLED screen. The iPhone X’s screen was just 5.8 inches. This new iPhone will reportedly cost more than $1,000, topping the iPhone X’s controversial price tag.

Call options traders have been gearing up since Apple announced the event, and yesterday was no exception. Volume on AAPL stock swelled to 498,000 contracts, with calls claiming an above average 67% of the day’s take.

Still, there is some concern heading into the event among speculators. Currently, the weekly Sep 14 put/call open interest ratio rests at 0.84, with put OI nearly rivaling call OI. Implied volatility for the series is pricing in a post-event move of about 2.6% for AAPL stock.

Micron (MU)

Micron has been hit hard in the past month by growing NAND and flash memory pricing concerns. The stock is off more than 16% during this period, and is set to open nearly 4% lower this morning.

Yesterday’s price-target cut from RBC Capital Markets certainly didn’t help matters. RBC lowered MU stock to $70 from $83 citing “memory cycle headwinds.”

MU options traders remain undeterred, however. Volume came in at over 254,000 contracts, with calls claiming 62% of the day’s take. Optimism is riding high on MU stock, with Micron slated to report earnings next week.

The September put/call OI ratio comes in at a lowly 0.45 reading, with calls more than doubling puts. September implied volatility is pricing in a more than 9% move for MU stock following the event.

Snap (SNAP)

Shares of social media firm Snap saw a little bit of life yesterday. The stock rallied about 1.5% after Wedbush upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $12.25 from $11.50. The brokerage firm argued that the departures of Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan and Chief Financial Officer Drew Vollero were positives for Snap.

Options traders were lukewarm on the topic. Calls only claimed about 54% of the more than 118,000 contracts traded on SNAP. Furthermore, the October put/call OI ratio comes in at 1.22, with puts clearly in command.

It’s easy to see why SNAP options traders remain bearish. The shares have plunged more than 109% since their January peak, and are now trading in single-digit territory.

As of this writing, Joseph Hargett held no position in any of the aforementioned equities.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2018/09/wednesdays-vital-data-apple-micron-technology-and-snap/.

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