DSW has had a unimpressive year, shedding 5.6% over the past 12 months
Footwear concern DSW Inc. (NYSE:DSW) is expected to report its fourth-quarter earnings tomorrow before market open. DSW has shed 5.6% year-over-year, and has been trading below newfound resistance of the 50-day moving average since late January. Shares of DSW were last seen up 2.4% at $19.54.
History suggests DSW could continue this positive price action tomorrow, considering the stock has had a positive earnings reaction in three out of the past six quarters, including one in this quarter last year. Looking back eight quarters, the shares have averaged a post-earnings move of 9.1% in either direction in the session after the company reports. For Tuesday's trading, the options market is pricing in a much larger-than-usual 16.9% one-day move, per implied volatility (IV) data.
In the options pits, traders have been leaning towards the bears' camp in recent weeks. Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows the security with a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.00, ranking in the 88th percentile of its annual range. This indicates puts have been bought over calls at a faster-than-usual clip in the past two weeks.
Echoing this, the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.97 ranks in just the 74th annual percentile. This low ranking means put open interest outweighs call open interest by a much wider-than-normal margin for options expiring within three months.
Digging deeper, short interest fell 7.6% during the past two reporting periods, and now represents 15% of the stock's total available float. At DSW's average daily trading volume, it would take more than a week for shorts to cover their bets.