Darden Restaurants stock is headed for its best day since 2021
Shares of Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) are up 7.3% at last glance today, trading at $170.77 after news that the Olive Garden parent is partnering with Uber Technologies (UBER) for delivery services. The company hopes to increase sales this way, as consumer spending at restaurants has been waning. The partnership is helping overshadow Darden’s fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue misses.
Today’s pop has DRI hitting its highest levels since late March, coming closer to its March 4 record high of $176.83, and breaking into positive territory for 2024. Should these gains hold, the equity will notch its largest single-day percentage gain since March 2021.
The stock is seeing a surge of options activity too. So far, 2,040 calls and 3,491 puts have crossed the tape, which is already 3.4 times the stock’s average daily options volume. The September 165 put is the most popular, with new positions being bought to open.
A short squeeze could power additional tailwinds, considering short interest tapered off by 3% in the most recent reporting period. The 6.32 million shares sold short still represents 5.4% of the stock’s available float though, and it would take shorts nearly five days to cover, at DRI’s average pace of trading.