Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) is the largest beauty retail chain in the United States. The company sells cosmetics, fragrances, skin care products, hair care products and salon services across its 1,196 stores in all 50 states. Ulta Beauty was one of the first major brick-and-mortar businesses to close its store locations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and, consequently, took some incredible losses earlier this year. Fast forward to November and the company continues to look toward a full recovery with the announcement of a new partnership with Target (TGT).

So far this year, Ulta Beauty stock held onto its 10% year-to-date level. The shares have more than doubled off their five-year peak-pandemic lows, with a floor emerging at the round $200 level. After bouncing from this level earlier in the month after the Target news, ULTA's ascending 10-day moving average has guided the stock higher.

Ulta Beauty is set to report earnings on December 3, 2020 after the close. In the company's past four earnings reports over the past 12 months, Ulta Beauty has beat expectations three times. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Ulta Beauty beat expectations by $0.12. In the first quarter of 2020, the company beat expectations by a margin of $0.16. The earnings target miss occurred when the company saw a drastic decline in the second quarter of 2020, coinciding with the shutdowns surrounding the pandemic. In Ulta Beauty's most recent quarter, the company beat its earnings target by $0.67 (+1117%). For its upcoming earnings report, the company is expected to report an EPS of $1.44 on Ulta Beauty stock.

Prior to the pandemic Ulta Beauty managed to string together quite a few years of consistent net income and revenue growth. The company demonstrated steady growth between 2016 and 2020. However, the pandemic put a temporary yet severe dent in the company’s net profit streak. Nonetheless, Ulta Beauty has begun to recover since its reported net losses in the second quarter of 2020. The company has shown initiative to not only to recover post-pandemic, but to push its revenue growth to new highs with the Target deal and Kylie Jenner partnership as two prime examples.

ULTA currently trades at a high price-earnings ratio of 56.43. However, Ulta Beauty stock also has forward price-earnings ratio of 21.79, which is much more promising for potential investors. The company has an average balance sheet with $1.16 billion in cash and $2.76 billion in total debt. Overall, Ulta Beauty seems to be shaping up to be an unexpected growth play. The company already controls a good portion of the sector's market share, but could see further expansion with this new Target partnership.

After Tuesday saw the Dow and S&P 500 close the session at record highs, stocks pulled back on Wednesday while traders processed the latest batch of unemployment data. Specifically, jobless claims came in at 778,000 on the week last week which was much higher than analysts' predications. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 29,872.47) shed 173.8 points, or 0.6% on the day on Wednesday. The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,629.65) fell 0.2%, for the day. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 12,094.40) gained 0.5% for the day. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 21.25) fell 1.8% for the day on Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving day off.

Today is a half day of trading for investors, still in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. The markets will be open from 9:30 a.m. ET until 1:00 p.m. ET. There are no further earnings reports due out today and there will be no major economic data slated to be released during the half-day trading session today.

In case you missed here, here are some highlights from Wednesday's jam-packed trading session:

• How to Read Schaeffer's Black Friday Indicator
• Bull Notes Pour in for DELL Following Earnings, Revenue Beat
• A Deep Dive into Carnival Stock After a 30-Day Rally
• Can AMC Entertainment Stock Endure the Pandemic?
• Hormel Foods Stock Signal Has Never Been Wrong
• Resilient Clean Energy Stock Has Room to Run
• Nordstrom Stock Surges on Slew of Post-Earnings Bull Notes
• Canada Goose Stock Gets Cooked After Double Downgrade
• Here is a Preview of What's in Store for Traders Next Week

Looking ahead to next week, investors will get little chance to breathe following the holiday shortened week, as they'll be immediately hit with a slew of data to digest as we enter peak holiday season with the beginning of December. Next week starts with home and motor vehicle data, as well as manufacturing reports. While Wednesday looks like a slow day, the Federal Reserve's latest "Beige book" report is due out, as well as the ADP employment report. Thursday comes with the usual jobless claims data for investors to pore over. Next week will end with even more employment data is due out, in addition to trade deficit data and factory orders.

Investors get little chance to breathe following the holiday shortened week, as they'll be immediately hit with a slew of data to digest as we enter peak holiday season with the beginning of December. The week starts with home and motor vehicle data, as well as manufacturing reports. While Wednesday looks like a slow day, the Federal Reserve's latest "Beige book" report is due out, as well as the ADP employment report. Thursday comes with the usual jobless claims data for investors to pore over. The week ends with even more employment data is due out, in addition to trade deficit data and factory orders.

As we approach the end of the year, there's still some notable earnings reports set to be released. Digging deeper, Carnival (CCL), Dollar General (DG), Kroger (KR),  Ollie's Bargain Outlet (OLLI), Salesforce.com (CRM), and Zoom Video (ZM) will all step into the earnings confessional.

Below is a brief list of some key market events and a few high-profile earnings releases scheduled for the upcoming week. All earnings and economic dates listed below are tentative and subject to change. Please check with each company's respective website for official reporting dates.

The week starts Monday, November 30, with the Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) and pending home sales data.

Tuesday, December 1 is packed to the brim, as Markit manufacturing PMI, ISM Manufacturing Index, construction spending, and motor vehicle sales data are all set to be released.

It's a slower day on Wednesday, December 2, though investors still have the latest ADP employment report to look forward to. Additionally, the Federal Reserve's "Beige book" is on tap.

Things pick back up on Thursday, December 3, with a slew of employment data set to be released. Meanwhile, Markit Services PMI and ISM services index information is due to be released.

Friday, December 4 closes out with the nonfarm payrolls and the latest unemployment rate. Average hourly earnings, trade deficit and factory orders data are on the docket as well.

The shares of Hormel Foods Corp (NYSE:HRL) are down 0.5% at $46.98 today, after receiving a price-target cut from JP Morgan to $44 from $45, as well as a price-target hike from Piper Sandler to $48 from $47. And while the security has cooled off from its early-November rally in which shares flirted with an Aug. 24 all-time-high of $52.94, traders shouldn't look away just yet. This pullback has HRL near a historically bullish trendline, which could send the equity higher in the coming weeks.

Specifically, Hormel Foods stock just came within one standard deviation of its 320-day moving average, after spending several months above this trendline. According to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, six other similar signals have occurred during the past three years. One month later, HRL enjoyed a 3.5% gain, with all six returns positive. From its current perch, a move of similar magnitude would put the security above the $48 mark -- back near that record high.

Analysts were plenty pessimistic toward the equity coming into today, leaving plenty of room for upgrades and additional price-target hikes going forward. Of the nine in coverage, eight carried a tepid "hold" or worse rating. Plus, the stock's 12-month consensus target of $46.22 is a still a 1.7% discount to current levels.

Shorts are already hitting the exits, though there is still plenty of pessimism left to be unwound. Short interest dropped 2.7% in the last two reporting periods, and the 24.76 million shares sold short account for a substantial 8.8% of the stock's available float, or over three week's worth of pent-up buying power. 

A sentiment shift in the options pits could also help keep the wind at the equity's back. This is per HRL's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 76% of readings from the past year. In simpler terms, puts are being picked up at a quicker-than-usual clip.

Now looks like the perfect time to take advantage of HRL'S next move with options. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 22% sits in the extremely low 7th percentile of its annual range. This means the stock is sporting attractively priced premiums at the moment.

Renewable energy stock First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) has recently broken out of an eight-year channel, soaring to an Oct. 28, fresh nine-year high of $97.93. The shares are holding above their $9 billion market cap level, a region that coincides with its 50% year-to-date area. With the clean energy sector in the spotlight recently, now seems like a good time to bet on FSLR’s next move higher.

On Nov. 10, FSLR received a rare “double downgrade,” pointing to pessimism amongst the brokerage bunch, though the equity has since risen on the charts. Of the 11 analysts in coverage, seven carry a “hold” or worse rating, leaving plenty of room for upgrades that could vault the stock higher. Meanwhile, 9.2% of FSLR’s stock is dedicated to short interest and at the stock’s average pace of trading, it would take nearly three days for shorts to cover their bearish bets.

Lastly, premiums look attractive on FSLR at the moment, based on its Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) of 48%, which ranks in the 17th percentile of its annual range. Plus, First Solar stock’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Scorecard (SVS) ranks at an 87 out of 100, meaning the equity has tended to exceed these expectations. Our recommended call has a leverage ratio of 4.5, and will double in value on a 23.5% rise in the underlying security.

Subscribers to Schaeffer's Weekend Trader options recommendation service received this FSLR commentary on Sunday night, along with a detailed options trade recommendation -- including complete entry and exit parameters. Learn more about why Weekend Trader is one of our most popular options trading services.

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AMC) is the largest movie theater chain in the world, and owns more than 1,000 theaters and over 11,000 screens in the US and Europe. Over the past week, AMC has been on a torrid bullish run of 32%. However, the company still remains one of the most negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The stock is currently trading down 39% year-to-date, even with this month's 83% gain. But considering its all-time low of $1.95 it hit on April 13, AMC is slowly pulling itself up by the bootstraps.

Two factors make AMC an intriguing play going forward. First, the stock remains heavily shorted. Short interest increased by 11% in the most recent reporting period, and the 23.89 million shares sold short now account for a whopping 45% of AMC's total available float. This makes the equity ripe for a short squeeze that could fuel even more tailwinds.

Secondly, now looks like an opportune time to get in on AMC's next move with options. The equity’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) of 163% stands in the low 20th percentile of its annual range. This means options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment. 

AMC Entertainment has missed expectations with a clean sweep on all four of its most recent earnings reports. However, all four of the post-earnings reactions have been to the positive, including a 14.7% pop back in August. The movie theater chain's next corporate report isn't until February 25, so perhaps some upbeat pandemic rhetoric can keep the wind at AMC's back.

The last dividend AMC paid was for $0.03 in the first quarter of 2020. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the company had paid dividends since 2014.

AMC Entertainment has been struggling to generate a consistent net income for many years now, largely due to a rise in the popularity of streaming services like Netflix (NFLX). AMC Entertainment regularly flipped from annual profitability to annual net losses. However, in recent years, the annual net loss years started to significantly outnumber the profitable years. Most recently, AMC Entertainment has fallen deep into the red with over $3.6 billion in net losses posted over the past twelve months.

The coronavirus pandemic has seemingly dealt a final blow to the AMC Entertainment business. The entire movie theater industry has been seemingly halted by COVID-19, which also means there won’t be new movie screenings any time soon. All of this coupled with the $11.34 billion in debt being carried by AMC Entertainment translates into a company is facing a massive uphill battle for survival.

The shares of Canada Goose Holdings Inc (NYSE:GOOS) are struggling, following a double downgrade from BTIG to "sell" from "buy." The analyst cites a potentially difficult holiday season, with a warmer start to the winter deterring shoppers from buying the company's down coats and other cold-weather items. At last check GOOS is down 8.4% at $35.39. 

This comes one day after Canada Goose stock surged toward a fresh annual high of $39.23 -- piggybacking off a bull note from TD Securities. Prior to this, the security had  been consolidating just below the $36 level, which is, once again, acting as a ceiling on the charts. GOOS is struggling just below its year-over-year breakeven, though it sports a six-month gain of 68.4%.

Options bears are likely cheering today's drop, since in the options pits, puts are king. This is per GOOS' 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.43 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which stands higher than 90% of readings from the past year, indicating a healthier-than-usual appetite for  long puts of late. 

This pessimism is carrying over into today's trading. Within the first hour, 902 calls and 1,649 puts have exchanged hands -- nine times the intraday average. The weekly 11/27 38.50-strike  put is the most popular, followed by the weekly 12/4 39.50-strike put. 

Members-only retailer Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) operates warehouses in eight different countries and is the second largest retailer in the world, trailing behind only Walmart (WMT). Costco Wholesale has made a lot of noise around COST stock recently, after announcing a special $10 per share dividend for its investors. The company will be paying approximately $4.4 billion to stockholders on December 11. The last day to buy the stock and be eligible for this dividend payment will be November 30*. Costco stock has a forward dividend of $2.40 and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Costco Wholesale has paid investors a dividend since November of 2004. Costco stock’s special $10 dividend comes at a yield of 3.05%.

Furthermore, COST has had an excellent year, up 30% year-to-date carving out a channel of higher highs since its annual low of $271.28 on Feb. 28. Costco stock is currently just a chip-shot from its all-time high of $389.50 that was hit on Nov. 9.

 Using Schaeffer's historical database, we conduct proprietary research on each underlying equity and determined which of those underlying equities’ options have historically had underpriced or overpriced options. We rank each equity’s options relative to the others in our database, with scores ranging from zero to 100. COST stock currently sports a ranking of 20 out of 100 on the Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS). Low SVS readings like this one point to COST stock having consistently realized lower volatility than their options have priced in -- pointing to possible premium-selling candidates. 

Costco Wholesale has beaten expectations on three of its four most recent quarterly earnings reports. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Costco Wholesale beat expectations by $0.02. In the first quarter of 2020, the company beat expectations by a margin of $0.04. And in its most recent quarter, Costco Wholesale reported an EPS of $3.04 instead of the expected EPS of $2.84, This represented a $1.15 increase in EPS compared to the previous quarter. For its upcoming earnings report, currently slated for after the market closes on December 10, Costco is expected to report a drop in its EPS down to $2.00.

Costco Wholesale has increased its total revenue by more than $10 billion over the past four years. That fact alone is probably one of the biggest drivers behind the company's ability to pay out special dividends. Nonetheless, this is not the first time Costco Wholesale has paid a special dividend. The company has done so on three separate occasions previously. Costco Wholesale paid $7 dividends in 2017 and 2012 and also paid out a $5 dividend to investors in 2015.

However, investors should not be blinded by the high yielding special dividend. Including the $10 dividend, Costco Whole will end the year paying $12.40 per share on Costco stock, which comes at a current yield of 3.78%. Costco Wholesale seems to pay a special dividend roughly every three years. Rough calculation would have Costco paying a 1%-1.5% yield for long-term shareholders, which isn’t bad but also isn't jaw-droopingly good, either. Nonetheless, these payouts are, without a doubt, a sign of how well the company is performing. Costco Wholesale's solid balance sheet allows them to offer special dividends without compromising too much of its available cash. An issue of concern for investors when considering Costco stock is that it has a sky-high price-earnings ratio of 42.38.

*Editor's Note: A previous version stated the date as December 2. We apologize for the error.

Carnival Corporation & Plc (NYSE:CCL) operates 10 cruise-related brands and 104 total ships. Since the beginning of the pandemic, CCL, along with all other cruise stocks, has taken heavy blows to its business. Carnival stock was one of the first to feel the impact of COVID-19 with the travel restrictions, and continues to be measurably impacted.

As a result of the pandemic, Carnival stock has taken a not--so-surprising 60% haircut in 2020. But there's always a silver lining; the shares have almost tripled off their April 2 record bottom of $7.80. Manageable post-earnings reactions have helped CCL dig out of penny stock territory.

Using Schaeffer's robust historical database, we conduct extensive research on each underlying equity and determined which of those underlying equities’ options have historically had underpriced or overpriced options. In doing so, each stock is given a Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) ranking. CCL is currently sporting a ranking of 78 out of 100. A high SVS reading indicates that CCL stock has consistently delivered bigger returns than its options implied volatility (IV) levels have predicted, meaning it may be a strong candidate for premium-buying strategies going forward. 

As far as earnings go, Carnival has beat expectations on two of its four most recent quarterly earnings reports. For the company's fourth quarter of 2019, Carnival beat expectations by $0.12. In the first quarter of 2020, the company missed expectations by a margin of $0.05. Carnival reported a huge loss of -$3.30 and missed expectations by $1.04. in the second quarter of 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Yet in its most recent quarter, Carnival's losses were slimmer than expected by one penny. For Carnival's next earnings report, due out before the open on Dec. 18, the company is expected to report a loss of $1.88.

The last dividend Carnival paid was for $0.50 in the first quarter of 2020, pre-pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak,  the company had consistently paid dividends since 2004.

At this point and from a mostly fundamental perspective, long-term investors likely should not expect CCL stock price to jump back up to its pre-pandemic levels in the short-term. Carnival stock likely won’t be able to produce positive earnings per share until late 2021 or 2022. Optimistically, Carnival revenue should be able to reach back up to previous levels some time in 2022. Overall, CCL does have the potential to bounce back above a $40 in stock price over the next 4-5 years.

However, Carnival now also carries a massive $26.35 billion in debt and just $8.18 billion in cash. Investing in CCL at this time is just a bet that the entire travel industry will resume and thrive at some point down the line. Carnival stock is a potential long-term play for investors that are patient enough to hold while waiting for the company to recover.