Deere Stock Hits Record High on Blowout Quarterly Results

Heavy machinery name Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) is trending today, after the company reported a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue win, and issued a strong full-year forecast. All of its business segments beat expectations, with net sales of $15.54 billion blowing estimates of $13.44 billion out of the water. Deere attributed the results to price hikes as well as higher infrastructure spending. 

At last glance, DE was up 7.2% at $446.57, and earlier hit a record high of $448.31. The equity had been rising steadily before today's bull gap, with help from its 20-day moving average. Year-to-date, Deere stock is up 29.8%. 

In the options pits, overall volume is running at nine times the intraday average, with 23,000 calls and 13,000 puts across the tape so far. The weekly 11/25 450-strike call is the most popular, with new positions being bought to open there.

This penchant for calls hasn't been the norm. Deere stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.75 sits higher than all but 2% of readings from the past 12 months, meaning short-term options traders have never been more put-biased.

Now looks like a good time to weigh in with options, too. DE's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) ranks at 82 out of 100, meaning the stock has exceeded options traders' volatility expectations during the past year.