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U.S. stock futures are circling unchanged this morning as traders return from the long holiday weekend.
Ahead of the Bell, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.08% and S&P 500 futures are higher by 0.02%. Nasdaq-100 futures have added 0.16%.
In the options pits on Friday, call and put volume ended in a dead heat, even as overall volume fell back to below-average levels. Specifically, about 14.5 million calls and 14.5 million puts changed hands on the session.
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Fear dissipated slightly over at the CBOE, where the single-session equity put/call volume ratio fell to 0.76. Meanwhile, the 10-day moving average held its ground near a 2019 high at 0.72.
Options activity was a mixed bag on Friday. Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) calls were hopping while its shares flew 6% higher. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell to a fresh two-year closing low amid continued concerns of slowing growth. Finally, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) received some love from Piper Jaffray with a call for its stock price to climb to $3,000.
Let’s take a closer look:
Roku (ROKU)
Every year a few lucky companies capture the fancy of investors. For 2019, Roku is undoubtedly one of the top contenders for “most-loved” stocks. On Friday, the streaming media company put an exclamation point on its year-to-date rise by popping 6.45% on above-average volume. With the jump, ROKU stock’s total gain for the year lifted to a hefty 213%. And the year’s not even half over yet!
Its behavior following the last two earnings announcements shows the powerful bull market is founded on strong fundamentals. The impressive sales growth over both quarters threw gasoline on what was already a well-burning fire. The aftermath of both reports saw ROKU score its largest rallies of the year.
As far as its chart goes, last week’s pole vault shot the stock to a new record high. It sits well above all major moving averages and has seen multiple accumulation days over the past month. Consider it a buy into any weakness.
On the options trading front, traders favored calls on the session. Activity swelled to 260% of the average daily volume, with 200,626 total contracts traded. Calls claimed 56% of the day’s take.
Implied volatility fell to 57% placing it at the 25th percentile of its one-year range. Premiums are pricing in daily moves of $3.45 or 3.6%.
Tesla (TSLA)
The morning strength for Tesla shares was snuffed out in short order on Friday. Of course, downside reversals are nothing new for the electric carmaker. The downtrend that carried Elon Musk’s flagship into the year has persisted ever since. Major support zones have cracked along the way, and distribution days litter the landscape. With Friday’s whack, TSLA stock is now down 43% year-to-date.