Tesla (TSLA) made headlines last night, as Elon Musk spearheaded the dramatic unveiling of its electric semi truck. J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ:JBHT) was impressed enough to quickly reserve multiple semitractor-trailers from the electric car name. Below, we will check in with J.B. Hunt, and examine how the truck stock could fare in the wake of this big development.
J.B. Hunt stock has etched out a channel of higher lows and highs since early 2016. In the past six months, JBHT has tacked on 20% and touched an all-time high of $111.98 on Oct. 2. Since hitting this notable milestone, though, the equity has been mired in a month-long pullback that has yielded a three-week losing streak. The shares, which are currently down 1.5% at $101.43, are now testing their 80-day moving average, which contained a similar drop back in August.
Although options volume has been light, call buying has dominated the picture. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), JBHT's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 21.73 ranks 99th annual percentile. In other words, calls are being purchased at a near annual-high rate.
Now is good time to target short-term JBHT options. That's according to its Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 21%, which ranks in the low 19th annual percentile. In other words, low volatility expectations are being priced into near-term options. Furthermore, J.B. Hunt has a Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 88, indicating JBHT shares have handily exceeded options traders' volatility expectations in the past year.