Twitter (TWTR) has experienced the usual buzz of political news recently, with the Russian court fining the social media name over the failure to delete content, and the Supreme Court dismissing a lawsuit over former U.S. President Donald Trump’s account. As of Tuesday afternoon, the equity is seeing a surge in call volume.
So far today, 73,000 calls have crossed the tape, which is double what is typically seen at this point. The top five most active options are weekly 4/9 calls, with new positions being opened at all. The most popular of these is the 70-strike call, meaning options traders are betting on more upside for Twitter stock by the end of the week.
On the charts, TWTR has been carving out a channel of lower highs since its Feb. 25 record high of $80.75. The equity has been steadily rising since its late-March dip to the $60 level, though pressure from the 40-day moving average could keep a lid on the rally. Year-to-date, the stock is up 23.7%.
Thomson Reuters Eikon
The brokerage bunch is leaning bearish. Of the 25 analysts in coverage, 15 carry a “hold” or worse rating on TWTR. Meanwhile, shorts are piling on, with short interest up 42.3% during the last two reporting periods, making up 4.4% of the stock’s available float.
Lastly, now could be a good time to weigh in on Twitter stock’s next move with options. This is per the stock’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) of 43%, which stands higher than just 5% of readings from the past year. This implies that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.
