The shares of sharpie marker manufacturer Newell Brands Inc (NASDAQ: NWL) are up 8.9% at $18.33 at last check, bucking the broad market trend after the company reported much higher than expected third-quarter earnings and revenue. This report happens to be Newell Brands' 12th straight profit beat, boosted on core sales growth from seven of eight major region business units.

Newell Brands reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue

Today's bull gap has NWL inching past the $18.30 region, a level that has kept a cap on the stock's highest rallies since mid-September. Steadily rebounding from its March lows of $10.44, the equity's 80-day moving average has stepped up to contain pullbacks in recent months. Now only down 6.3% in 2020, NWL is taking aim at its Nov. 5 annual high of $20.99. 

No upgrades and/or price-target hikes have come out of the woodwork today, a surprise considering the pessimism among the brokerage bunch. Six of the eight analysts in coverage sport a "hold" rating on the security, leaving two confident outliers at "strong buys." Meanwhile the 12-month consensus price target of $17.90 is around a 2% discount to current levels. If NWL keeps up its pace, there's a good chance it will receive a round of upgrades/price-target hikes. 

The options pits have been looking far more bullish, albeit limited absolute volume. This is per NWL's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 5.83 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which stands higher than 92% of readings from the past year.

Today, options traders are echoing that sentiment with greater numbers. So far, 3,169 calls have crossed the tape -- 11 times what's typically seen at this point and 10 times the number of puts traded. The December 20 call is most popular, followed by the November 18 call.