BlackRock will report earnings before Friday's open
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) is one a few financial stocks gearing up to report earnings to kick off 2022. The company is slated to chime in with fourth-quarter results ahead of the open on Friday, Jan. 14. BlackRock stock has closed higher the day after reporting in six of the past eight quarters -- including a 3.8% pop in October 2021. On average, the shares have swung 3.4%, regardless of direction. This time around, the options market is pricing in a slightly larger 4.3% next-day move.
BlackRock stock could use a positive post-earnings move, as it's struggled early in the new year, shedding over 3.5% in the first few sessions of 2022. Last seen down 0.4% at $884.75, BLK is facing off with its 200-day moving average, a long-term area of support of support that caught a pullback near the $820 level in early October. Year-over-year, the security is holding onto a 14% lead.
The equity could still benefit from a shift in the options pits, as short-term options players have rarely been more put-biased in the past year. This is per BlackRock stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.94, which stands higher than 85% of readings from its annual range.
Conversely, analyst attention is extremely optimistic towards BLK, with 11 of the 12 brokerage firms following the equity sporting "buy" or "strong buy" ratings. Further, the stock's average 12-month price target of $1,021.67 sits at a 15.1% premium to current trading levels.