Recent traders took aim at the $300 level for NFLX
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is slightly higher after Soros Fund Management dissolved its stake in the company. The stock is up 0.2% at $299.70, following its lowest close in eight months yesterday. Looking more broadly, NFLX has been struggling to gain ground since its post-earnings bear gap in late July. The stock's attempts to close this gap were met with resistance from the 200-day moving average, but it is still up roughly 12% this year.
Despite its recent earnings disappointment, most analysts are still feeling optimistic on the stock, with 22 calling it a "buy" or better, while only four say its a "hold" or worse. Plus, the consensus 12-month target price of $388.40 holds a roughly 29% premium to current levels, and represents an area the stock hasn't touched in roughly a year.
Options traders, on the other hand, appear to be betting bearishly on the stock of late, with the FAANG name sporting a 10-day put/call volume of 0.90 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits in the 97th percentile of its annual range, too, hinting at a much larger appetite for puts over calls of late.
In fact, yesterday's most popular option was the August 300 put, where 9,110 contracts exchanged hands -- the majority of which were bought to open. Should the stock reverse course today these traders stand to gain a profit by the time the contract expires this evening.