AOBC has climbed in recent months
Shares of firearm maker American Outdoor Brands Corp (NASDAQ:AOBC) are down 0.4% at $9.54 this morning, the stock buzzing on news that the company's CEO James Debney has been ousted by the board effective immediately, after violating a non-financial company policy. Longer term, the equity has added over 77% from its Oct. 3 low, and is now sporting a 3.2% year-to-date gain thanks to strong support from the 20-day moving average in recent weeks.
Analysts have yet to respond to the news, but coming into today, 67% of covering firms carried a "strong buy" recommendation. This optimistic sentiment is echoed by the stock's average 12-month price target of $12.37, which comes in 32% above current trading levels.
Short interest has taken a backseat on the equity, dropping nearly 5% during the past two reporting periods. This accounts for 4.7% of AOBC's total available float, meaning it would take short sellers nearly three days to buy back their bearish bets.
As for options traders, long calls have continued to dominate at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Around 750 calls were bought to open across the exchanges in the past 10 days, compared to just 31 puts, so it would seem traders have been betting on upside -- or hedging their short positions.