Uber's active users nearly halved, while revenue at its food delivery business doubled
The shares of ride share name Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) are down 5.3% at $32.88, following the firm's second-quarter financial results. Uber reported a $1.8 billion net loss from June through April, which included layoff charges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform's usership also dropped from 99 million to 55 million globally, though revenue at its food-delivery offshoot, Uber Eats, doubled to $1.2 billion.
Uber's earnings event is causing some excitement in its options pits. So far today, 84,000 calls have crossed the tape, as opposed to 70,000 puts -- four times the total intraday average. The weekly 8/7 33-strike put, which expires later today, is the most popular, while positions are being opened at the weekly 8/14 33-strike put as well.
Calls have been the preference for the past couple months. In fact, at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 2.49 calls were picked up for every put during the past 10 weeks. This ratio sits higher than 78% of annual readings, suggesting a healthier-than-usual appetite for these bullish bets of late.
It should be noted that today's announcement did draw out at least six price-target hikes -- the highest coming from RBC to $50 from $45 -- while two other analysts slashed their estimates. Despite UBER's 23.7% year-over-year deficit, most of the brokerage bunch is surprisingly optimistic toward the stock, with 23 of the 26 in coverage giving it a "buy" or better review, with not a single "sell" to be seen. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $41.36 is a steep 26.3% premium to current levels, marking a region UBER hasn't reached since May 2019.