U.S. stock futures are trading higher this morning on the heels of strong earnings from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Ahead of the bell, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.26%, and S&P 500 futures are higher by 0.24%. Nasdaq-100 futures have added 0.60%.

In the options pits, activity followed the usual script with calls outpacing puts by a modest margin. Specifically, about 18.1 million calls and 16 million puts changed hands on the session.

Put demand at the CBOE shifted higher driving the single-session equity put/call volume ratio rose up to 0.65 — a three-week high. Meanwhile, the 10-day moving average climbed to 0.60.

Options activity continues to center around companies stepping up to the earnings plate. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and General Electric (NYSE:GE) all saw large volumes surrounding yesterday’s reports.

Let’s take a closer look:

Apple (AAPL)

Apple earnings are the talk of the town this morning. The tech giant reported earnings-per-share of $2.46, easily beating Wall Street’s forecast of $2.37. Revenue also came in ahead of expectations at $58 billion versus $57.50 billion.

AAPL stock is trading up $10.65 or 5.31% premarket.

With the overnight jump, Apple shares are set to open at a new 2019 high. The gains extend what has become a robust recovery after the fourth-quarter thrashing. Year-to-date, the stock is now up 34%. Its price trend is climbing above rising moving averages across all time frames.

Last year’s peak of $233.47 is quickly becoming a possible target in the coming quarter.

Keep Apple stock on your radar as a top pick for bullish plays into any weakness.

Ahead of earnings, options trading was balanced between calls and puts. Total activity jumped to 202% of the average daily volume, with 914,886 contracts traded. Calls only slightly outpaced puts claiming 52% of the day’s take.

Option premiums were pricing in a $9.14 or 4.6% earnings gap, which makes this morning’s $10 pop roughly in-line with expectations.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

AMD shares are opening 4.5% higher on the heels of a respectable earnings report. Adjusted earnings-per-share came in at 6 cents, while revenue landed at $1.27 billion.

This year’s price trend has given traders multiple chances at buying breakouts and retracement. And most have delivered easy profits. Heading into earnings, AMD stock boasted rising 200-day, 50-day and 20-day moving averages. This morning’s gap has the potential to create another breakout over the $29 level.

On the options trading front, puts proved more popular than calls yesterday. Activity grew to 149% of the average daily volume, with 386,804 total contracts traded. Puts accounted for 51% of the tally.

Option premiums were baking in an earnings gap of $2.49 or 9%. So the after-hours jump of 4.5% is fairly tame by comparison. Traders holding short volatility positions such as iron condors into the number should be waking to decent profits today.

General Electric (GE)

General Electric shareholders breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday after the company reported increased profits and a reduction in their cash burn. EPS arrived at 14 cents versus the expected 9 cents. Revenue also topped expectations at $27.3 billion versus calls for $27 billion.

GE stock gapped out of the gate and after probing both higher and lower, ended close to where it began. The 4.5% gain, while nice, does little to change the messy nature of its price trend. The 200-day moving average continues to cruise lower, threatening to upend the stock’s recovery attempts.

The beautiful thing about GE’s three months of chop is it creates clear lines in the sand to trade against. Bulls should wait until we clear $11. Bears should wait for a break of $9. Until then, treat the stock as dead money.

On the options trading front, traders came after calls with a vengeance. Activity swelled to 202% of the average daily volume, with 97,636 total contracts traded; 69% of the trading came from call options alone.

The implied volatility crush was on full display yesterday with the metric crashing to 43%. That places it at the 32nd percentile of its one-year range. Premiums are pricing in daily moves of 27 cents or 2.7%.

As of this writing, Tyler Craig didn’t hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out his recently released Bear Market Survival Guide to learn how to defend your portfolio against market volatility.