Dell Stock Soars After Earnings, Revenue Beats
The PC giant cited profitable contracts for its China-based server unit
Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) stock is soaring today, after the PC maker reported adjusted second-quarter earnings of $2.15 per share on $23.45 billion in revenue -- more than analysts were expecting. The company cited increased desktop demand, as well as "higher-margin dollars" brought in by profitable contracts for its server unit in China.
Initial analyst reaction has been mixed. While price-target hikes have come through from Raymond James (to $62) and Credit Suisse (to $61), the latter expressed concern over aggressive pricing in the second half. Elsewhere, UBS cut its DELL price target to $51 from $67.
More broadly speaking, analysts are upbeat toward Dell Technologies. Prior to today, nine brokerages maintained a "buy" or better rating, compared to four "holds," and not a single "sell." Meanwhile, the average 12-month price target of $64.96 is a 24% premium to current levels.
The optimism has been seen in the options pits, too, where speculators at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) bought to open 5.23 calls for each put over the past 10 days. This call-skewed trading is continuing today, with roughly 9,500 calls and 4,000 puts on the tape so far, four times what's typically seen at this point.
Looking at the charts, DELL stock was last seen trading up 12.5% at $52.59, headed toward its highest close since Aug. 2, and its biggest one-day percentage gain since it returned to the public market last December. The shares are still down 25% from their mid-May peak above $70, and tagged a seven-month low of $44.35 on Wednesday, Aug. 28.