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Traders see end-of-week struggles for Nike Inc (NKE)
Bearish speculators are rushing to Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) today, as puts are trading at three times their normal intraday rate, and are outpacing calls by an almost 4-to-1 margin. The option attracting the most attention is the weekly 1/30 94-strike put, which has seen seven times as many contracts cross compared to the next closest.
Looking at the data shows potential buy-to-open activity at this strike. By buying the contracts to open, traders expect NKE to dip below $94 by this Friday's close, when the weekly series expires.
Speculators buying to open NKE puts is nothing new. The stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.77 ranks in the 78th percentile of its annual range.
On a different note, the analyst community is mostly bullish toward NKE. Of the 21 analysts covering the stock, 11 have handed out "strong buy" recommendations, with one "buy," nine "holds," and not a single "sell" to be found.
Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) has added 30.3% in the past year, but is off 5% since hitting an annual high of $99.76 in late November. At $94.77, the stock is down 1.6% today, and could be feeling pressure from its 10-week moving average, which previously acted as support.