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Notable Losers: Netflix, Inc., Tesla Motors Inc, and Twitter Inc

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA), and Twitter Inc (TWTR) are among the stocks getting hammered today

Aug 20, 2015 at 2:54 PM
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U.S. stocks are getting slaughtered today, with the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) suffering the most of the major market indexes, dragged lower by tech titan Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), amongst others. Some other notable COMP listees swimming in the red are streaming video concern Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), while Big Board member Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is exploring uncharted territory as social stocks swoon.

NFLX -- which was the best S&P 500 Index (SPX) component of 2015, as of yesterday -- is down 7.9% at $112.38, falling with the broader equities market and the media sector. The stock is on pace for its steepest one-day slide since October, and could close beneath its 10- and 20-day moving averages for the first time in over a month. However, the equity remains more than 130% higher year-to-date, and just touched a record high of $129.29 earlier this month.

Short-term option traders are more put-biased than usual, as the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.48 stands higher than 96% of all other readings from the past year. Today, Netflix, Inc. options are flying off the shelves at twice the average intraday pace, with puts outpacing calls by a healthy margin. However, during the past 10 weeks, NFLX calls have been bought to open at a faster-than-usual clip. 

TSLA started the week on a strong note, thanks to some upbeat analyst attention, but has erased its week-to-date gains today. The shares are down 5% at $242.61, testing their footing atop their 10-day trendline. For 2015, TSLA remains 9.1% higher. 

In options land, TSLA's short-term crowd is more call-heavy than usual; the security's SOIR of 0.96 registers in the 16th percentile of its annual range. Today, Tesla Motors Inc puts are outpacing calls, and running at 1.5 times the average intraday pace. Ahead of front-month expiration tomorrow, it looks like some last-minute bears are buying to open August-dated puts to bet on additional downside. 

Finally, TWTR has surrendered 5.7% to sit at $26.03, and just notched an all-time low of $25.92 -- marking the stock's first time below its IPO price of $26. The microblogging platform has given up 27.4% in 2015, and now sits in "oversold" territory. 

As such, Twitter Inc shorts have been upping the bearish ante, as short interest increased by more than 27% during the past two reporting periods. Likewise, option buyers have picked up puts over calls at a healthier-than-usual rate, as the equity's 50-day put/call volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits at 0.43 -- higher than 76% of all other readings from the past year.

 

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