Semiconductor Stock Receives Top Pick Status After Earnings

The stock is pacing for a roughly 15-year high

The shares of programmable device maker Lattice Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:LSCC) had already been barreling higher since hovering around $5.50 from late October to early November, closing Tuesday at $8.18, suffering just one negative week since Christmas. Now, LSCC stock is set to open near 15-year-high territory.

Specifically, the security is trading up 16% before the open, thanks to strong fourth-quarter results and an upwardly revised current-quarter sales outlook. Brokerage firm Susquehanna said the first-quarter guidance shows the company is stabilizing, and upgraded its opinion on the equity to "positive" from "neutral," while lifting its price target to $11 from $8.

A few other bull notes came through, as well. Most notably, Jefferies upped its price target to $10.50 from $8.50, and named Lattice as its top small cap pick. Coming into today, there were only five analysts in coverage on LSCC shares, so a run to fresh highs could draw increased attention from Wall Street.

Meanwhile, the tech concern is thinly traded in the options pits, with just 229 calls and puts bought to open combined during the past 10 days at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). However, it's worth calling out the open interest of 3,276 contracts at the March 10 call, by far the most for any contract. It looks like most of these positions were actually added back in early October, meaning anyone who bought to open the calls could be cheering today's potential surge.