Tesla shares were higher on Wednesday ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings report expected after the bell.
It has been a volatile year for the stock, which has been plagued by layoffs, shrinking profit margins, and global trade worries.
Despite the headwinds, one options trader is betting on a major post-earnings rally for Tesla.
“Tesla is implying a move of about 10 percent on earnings this week,” Optimize Advisors’ Mike Khouw said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Fast Money.”
“One of the trades that stuck out to me today as pretty interesting was a purchase of 1,000 of the Feb. 8 weekly 345-strike calls. They were spending a little over three bucks for those, so this is making a bullish bet that it’s going to be above $345 by a week from this coming Friday,” Khouw explained.
Remarkably, since Tesla’s June 2010 IPO, the company has seen multiple jumps on the back of earnings reports that would rival this one.
“That would be an increase of about 18 percent, and a move of that size over a like amount of time is rare but not unprecedented,” says Khouw. “We have seen about five moves of that magnitude or larger in the history of Tesla earnings, and that could also be a hedge for one of the many people who have big short positions in the stock.”
Tesla shares spiked 12 percent following the company’s last earnings report on Oct. 24, when they reported a surprise profit and strong Model 3 sales volume.
