Against a backdrop of brewing recession fears, Israel-based digital entertainment company Playtika (US:PLTK) has benefitted from strong investor demand in recent trading sessions. Since the beginning of this year, PLTK stock shot up to just under 35% through the close of the April 12 session. Conspicuously, Fintel’s screener for unusual stock options volume identified dynamics with bullish implications.

Specifically, following the conclusion of Wednesday's trading, call volume for Playtika options reached 40,163 contracts against an open interest reading of 5,600. On average, call volume for PLTK stock hits 165 contracts. On the other end of the equation, put volume came out to 7,230 contracts against open interest of 4,572. Typically, put volume usually reaches 162 contracts.

Bloomberg News on Monday reported that the mobile game developer has attracted renewed takeover interest from private equity buyers. It's been a little bit more than a year since the company announced it was starting a strategic review, working with Raine Group on a way forward that could include a sale or other possible transaction.

Economic Pessimism

The ongoing positive interest for PLTK stock runs counter to burgeoning pessimism regarding economic stability. Recently, Reuters reported that the U.S. equities sector ended lower on Wednesday after the disclosed minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting broadcasted recession risks. Namely, several members of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) expressed concerns about potential consequences associated with the regional bank liquidity crisis.

Moreover, stakeholders of PLTK stock will be looking for the underlying enterprise to reverse prior heavy losses. In the trailing one-year period, shares stumbled over 41%. Since making its public market debut in January 2021, PLKT stock has declined 63%.

Bolstering enthusiasm is Playtika’s potentially undervalued profile. According to data from Fintel, the mobile gaming company features a price-earnings ratio of 15.40-times trailing earnings. In contrast, the trailing PE of the entertainment software industry is 105.43 times while the sector’s current PE is 52.32 times. Either way, PLTK stock runs well underneath both metrics.

Short Interest

Interestingly, Playtika’s short interest pings at 7.62% of its float. Also, its short interest ratio is 1.44 days to cover. As well, PLTK’s off-exchange short volume ratio stands at 70.42%.

Additionally, Playtika shares hit 73.36 out of 100 points for Fintel’s Short Squeeze Score. Per the investment resource and education platform, the score “ranges from 0 to 100, with higher numbers indicating a higher risk of a short squeeze relative to its peers, and 50 being the average.”

Finally, PLTK stock ranks highly for quality and value, reaching a score of 78.15 and 70.76 (out of 100), respectively, for Fintel’s namesake indicators.