Planet Fitness Extends Surge on Fresh Bull Note

The fitness chain is 61% higher year-over-year

Shares of Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE:PLNT) are moving higher this morning, last seen up 1.2% at $72.49, after the stock received a fresh bull note out of Raymond James. The brokerage firm initiated coverage with an "outperform" rating and $80 price target, a nearly 12% premium to last night's close of $71.65. The firm credited its optimistic outlook toward Planet Fitness' differentiated business model.

This type of optimism is far from a rarity for the fitness chain, as 10 of 13 covering analysts carried "strong buy" recommendations coming into today, and not a single "sell" on the books. However, PLNT's average 12-month price target of $79.08 comes in at a tame 9% premium to current trading levels, meaning price-target hikes could be in the cards.

In the options pits, calls are a favorite among short-term traders. This is per Planet Fitness stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.37, which ranks in the bottom 7th percentile of its annual range. In other words, call open interest overpowers put open interest by an unusual margin among options expiring in the next three months.

Interestingly, shorts have begun to throw in the towel, evidenced by a 13.7% decline in short interest during the most recent reporting period. It would take shorts more than three days to buy back their remaining bearish bets, at the average pace of trading, meaning there's still sideline cash available to fuel additional upside for PLNT stock.

From a technical viewpoint, PLNT touched a record high of $81.75 back on Tuesday, June 18. A short-lived pullback from here brought PLNT near the $70 level, home to its rising 100-day moving average. Year-over-year the equity is up almost 62%.