Chipmaker Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) hasn't been immune to the drubbing tech stocks (as well as the broader market) have faced so far this year, observes Lillian Currens, deputy editor of Schaeffer's Investment Research.
The security has lost 36.3% so far in 2022, though it sports a 6.4% lead over the last 12 months. The $160 level kept the equity's recent pullback in check, while the stock's 30-day moving average has recently stepped in as a floor on the charts.
Even better, Nvidia stock is a noted outperformer during the second half of the year, making now a good time to speculate on even more upside for the shares as 2022 marches on.
Specifically, the security just landed on Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's list of the best performing stocks during the second half of the year, going back 10 years.
According to this data, eight out of the last 10 of NVDA's H2 returns were positive, with the shares averaging an impressive 32% return during that time period. A similar move from its current perch of $187.51 would put the equity at just above the $247.50 region, which hasn't been touched since early April.
An unwinding of pessimism in the options pits could put additional wind at the equity's back. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), NVDA sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio that sits in the 92nd percentile of its 12-month range. This means puts are being picked up at a quicker-than-usual clip.
It's worth noting that NVDA's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) ranks at 96 out of a possible 100. This means the stock tends to exceed options traders' volatility expectations -- a boon for buyers.
