Shares of Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS, Stock Forum) have been outstanding on the charts, outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by a whopping 129% during the past 60 sessions. In fact, the security has advanced more than 300% during the past 52 weeks, guided into the black atop its 10-week and 20-week moving averages. Nevertheless, with CRUS now lingering in the $18 neighborhood, this duo of trendlines has a way to go before catching up.
Should the shares of CRUS continue to pick up steam on the charts, the skepticism in the options pits could unwind – which could add even more fuel to the outperformer's fire. Specifically, the stock’s 10-day put/call volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) stands at 0.25, in the 92nd annual percentile. Or, simply put, speculators on the exchange have initiated bearish bets over bullish at a notably accelerated pace during the past couple of weeks.
In the same vein, the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) – which measures options slated to expire within three months – of 0.52 ranks above 75% of all others taken during the past year. In other words, near-term options players have been more pessimistically positioned toward CRUS only one-quarter of the time during the past 12 months.
Furthermore, the security could get an added boost from the analyst crowd, should a slew of brokerage firms update their price targets in light of the stock's string of new highs. According to Thomson Reuters, the average 12-month price target on the equity stands at $16.40, representing a discount to CRUS' new eight-year peak of $18.85, tagged earlier this week.
In conclusion, should the shares of CRUS extend their momentum on the charts, a reversal in sentiment in the options arena, or a heap of upbeat analyst attention, could aid the security’s quest to assail new heights.
Disclosure: Andrea Kramer has no financial interest in any of the equities or products mentioned in this column.