Qualcomm Stock Buzzing on Trade Tailwinds, C-Suite News

The upbeat U.S.-China trade developments are boosting the chip sector

A double-dose of headlines has the shares of Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) up 1% to trade at $74.17 this morning.First, the chip stock is enjoying broad market tailwinds thanks to the latest U.S.-China trade optimism. But a C-suite shakeup e is also propping up the stock. On late Friday, the company announced current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dave Wise will retire effective immediately, and Akash Palkhiwala will serve as the new interim CFO until the company finds a permanent replacement.

On Friday, the broad market sell-off sent Qualcomm stock down 4.7%, snapping what was six-day winning streak. So assuming today's positive price action holds, the chip stock is heading toward its eighth win in 10 days. Thanks to the conclusion of a huge Apple-Qualcomm dispute back in April, QCOM is up 29% in 2019, but the $79-$80 level has emerged as resistance in the past three months. In that time frame, the shares have traded in a tight range, with the $65-$67 level emerging as a floor.

Options traders have ramped up their bearish bets lately. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), QCOM's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.57 ranks in the 84th annual percentile. So while calls still outnumber puts on an absolute basis, the high percentile indicates puts have been bought to open relative to calls at a quicker-than-usual clip.

Plus, Qualcomm stock has a history of making bigger moves than the options market was pricing in, according to the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) reading of 98 out of 100.