Options Market Statistics: AAPL Options Pop as Apple Shares Just Had Their Best Day Since Last May

$Apple(AAPL)$   shares rose by 4.33%, closing at $175.04. Its options trading volume was 1.97 million. Call contracts account for 68.4% of the total trading volume. The most traded calls are contracts of $170 strike price that expire on Apr. 12th. The total volume reaches 93,109 with an open interest of 23,973. The most traded puts are contracts of a $167.5 strike price that expires on Apr. 12th; the volume is 31,428 contracts with an open interest of 11,004.

Apple shares climbed 4.3% on Thursday to a share price of $175.04. It is Apple's best day since May 5, 2023.

Apple's rise came during a strong day for technology stocks, especially those in artificial intelligence, as the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.77%.

Despite some negative trends around iPhone sales in China, and recent reports of canceled projects such as its effort to build a car, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said investors may be more comfortable with its current valuation after recent losses and the potential to benefit from AI.

The JPMorgan analysts predicted a strong iPhone sales cycle in 2026 due to forthcoming AI features. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told investors to expect an AI announcement later this year. That is expected to occur during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference event in June.

$NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$    shares rose by 4.11%, closing at $906.16. Its options trading volume was 1.82 million. Call contracts account for 58.7% of the total trading volume. The most traded calls are contracts of $900 strike price that expire on Apr. 12th. The total volume reaches 50,603 with an open interest of 13,702. The most traded puts are contracts of a $800 strike price that expires on Apr. 12th; the volume is 46,542 contracts with an open interest of 15,974.

Nvidia stock is on the move Thursday after the graphics card company's shares got an increased price target from Raymond James.

This saw the firm's analysts increase their price target for NVDA stock from $850 per share to $1,100 per share. That's a potential upside of 26.4% compared to its prior closing price. It's also above the analyst consensus price prediction of $926.30 per share.

Investors will note that Raymond James maintained its "strong buy" rating for NVDA stock alongside that price target increase. For the record, the analyst consensus rating for NVDA is a moderate buy based on 41 opinions.

$Alphabet(GOOGL)$   shares rose by 2.09%, closing at $159.41. Its options trading volume was 0.33 million. Call contracts account for 67.2% of the total trading volume. The most traded calls are contracts of $160 strike price that expire on Apr. 12th. The total volume reaches 52,189 with an open interest of 12,132. The most traded puts are contracts of a $155 strike price that expires on Apr. 12th; the volume is 23,400 contracts with an open interest of 2,835.

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