Nike Inc. (NKE) has seen its implied volatility spike sharply higher in these days. The stock’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) tagged an annual low of about 12% in early January, but this reading has since spiked 142% to its current perch at 29%. For a point of comparison, NKE’s one-month historical volatility currently arrives at 14.03%.
What’s more, NKE’s SVI could head even higher, as the company’s quarterly earnings report draws nearer. For the record, NKE is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report after the close of trading on March 17. Currently, Wall Street is looking for a profit of 88 cents per share, some 11 cents better than the same quarter last year. Historically, NKE has been a solid performer in the earnings confessional, besting the consensus estimate in each of the past four reporting periods by an average of more than 10%.
Checking in with data from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and International Securities Exchange (ISE), we find that activity among options traders is quite bullish ahead of the event. Specifically, the equity’s 10-day ISE/CBOE call/put volume ratio of 1.93 ranks above 94% of all those taken in the past year.
