Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) Tests Support as Revenue Misses the Mark

Toymaker Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) posted third-quarter earnings this morning that topped Wall Street's expectations (subscription required) -- but the stock has dropped 6.9% to $72.38 as sales fell just short of the mark.  The Street had hoped that the company's Star Wars line of toys would help drive sales higher, but solid performance in branded merchandise was offset by weakness in toys targeted to girls. 

Technically, the shares have added 31.6% on a year-to-date basis. Today's drop was contained by the equity's 180-day moving average, which previously supported HAS during a pullback earlier this month.

Turning to the option pits, it appears that bulls believe in HAS. The firm's 10-day call/put volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) checks in at a hefty 16.69. Not only does this reading indicate that calls bought to open have outstripped puts at a nearly 17-to-1 pace over the last couple of weeks, but it is also higher than 94% of the readings taken in the past 52 weeks. 

While optimism has built in the option pits, analysts have remained unimpressed. At last check, HAS receives two "strong buy" rankings and 8 "holds." This configuration leaves the door wide open for momentum-building upgrades, which value-minded brokers might be inspired to hand out as Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) continues to hold above technical support despite its revenue-related decline.