Shares are up 15% in the past month and options bulls are piling in, with more than 75,000 calls traded by noon central time Friday, compared to 16,000 puts. More than twice as many calls traded at the ask or above than at the bid, meaning traders were buying upside exposure.
The shares were ticking higher Monday in a tough tape.
Most of the trading was in at-or-near-the-money call contracts that shifted higher as the stock added onto gains throughout the session Friday, with the 100-strike call expiring May 15 the most popular contract by volume and the 95-strike expiring the same day accumulating the most premium traded.
Cisco, YTD
Rising call premiums alongside stock prices has become a key identifying characteristic of momentum stocks that have attracted the attention of retail traders willing to place pricey bets that shares will move higher in a hurry.
One recent example: legacy chipmaker Intel, less than a year removed from chatter about irrelevancy, up 88% since bullish options flows were identified prior to earnings.
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