Option Bulls, Analysts Cozy Up To Netflix Stock

Netflix calls have been outnumbering puts as the streaming stock makes a swift recovery

The20 stocks listed in the table below have attracted the highest weekly options volume during the past 10 trading days, with data courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.One stock in particular getting plenty of attention from options players (and analysts) is Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), and below, we'll break apart the frenzy of activity surrounding the streaming stock.

Netflix has seen 117,838 weekly call options traded during the past 10 days, compared to 99,111 puts. Most active today is the weekly 3/27 400-strike call, followed by the 300-strike put from the same series, with positions being opened at both. Taking a step back, the April 400 call is home to the top front-month open interest position.

Thanks to an upgrade from Baird to "outperform" from "neutral," Netflix is up 9.6% at $364.81 in today's trading. This surge has the equity eyeing its first close north of its 20-day moving average since its early March highs, and up nearly 25% since its March 17 low near the $290 region. Meanwhile, traders are also digesting news that the company will temporarily lower its streaming quality in Israel in response to the spike in traffic as a result of people waiting out the coronavirus outbreak at home.

Turning to analyst sentiment, it looks like there's still room for upgrades. Coming into today, 18 considered the stock a "buy" or better, while nine called NFLX a "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, the consensus 12-month price target of $366.74 is just a chip-shot away from current levels.