Put traders are having a field day today
One of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this morning is Under Armour (NYSE:UAA), down 16.8% to trade at $17.02. The athleisure name reported adjusted fourth quarter earnings of 10 cents per share on $1.44 billion in revenue, the former of which on par with expectations and the latter lower than estimates. But more surprisingly, Under Armour downwardly revised its 2020 sales forecast, citing an expected hit from the coronavirus outbreak.
So far, no analysts have come forward with any bear notes. But that's probably because most are already entrenched in the bearish camp, with 16 out of 22 in coverage rating UAA a "hold" or worse. Plus, the consensus 12-month price target of $21.50 was only a slim 5% premium to last night's closing perch at $20.45.
Under Armour stock -- which was just flashing a bearish signal yesterday -- is on track for its worst single-session decline since Nov. 4. The shares already hit a 52-week low of $16.66 this morning, but even before today were down 5.3% in 2020 and had encountered resistance at the $22 level.
As alluded to yesterday, puts dominate the picture. The equity's Schaeffer's open interest ratio (SOIR) of 3.61, which ranks in the 100th percentile of its annual range. In other words, short-term options players have rarely been more put-heavy during the last 12 months.
Today, put traders are feasting. At last check, over 6,600 puts have changed hands, 12 times the average intraday amount and more than triple the number of calls traded. The weekly 2/14 17-strike put is the most popular, while there is sell-to-open activity seen at the February 15.50 put.