UBER Revs Higher Despite Headwinds

Uber's Chief Technology Officer Thuan Pham will step down from his position next month

It's a big day of headlines for Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER). The ride share company's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Thuan Pham just stepped down, effective May 16. Meanwhile, Uber is discussing plans to cut roughly 20% of its staff, as stay-at-home restrictions heavily curb demand for its services.Despite these reports, Uber is up 3.4% to trade at $31.23, at last check.

On the charts, UBER has been on a steady climb higher, stringing together four consecutive wins before pressure at the 80-day moving average sent the stock slightly lower yesterday. The security is once again butting up against this trendline. Plus, UBER is eyeing its first close north of its 60-day moving average since late February, should this morning's gains hold.

The majority of analysts are still extremely bullish on UBER. Of the 35 in coverage, 31 call it a "buy" or better, with not a single "sell" or "strong sell" on the table. Plus, the consensus 12-month target price of $38.02 is a 21.5% premium to last night's close.

Sentiment is optimistic in the options pits, too. In the last 10 days 64,285 calls exchanged hands, almost double the 36,901 puts traded during the same time period. Short sellers, on the other hand, have started piling on their bearish bets, with short interest up 11.8% in the last reporting period. The 55.94 million shares sold short now represents 6.3% of UBER's available float.