Constellation Brands is being sued by AB InBev
The shares of beverage name Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) are lower this morning, down 2.4% to trade at $235.44 following news that AB InBev (BUD) is suing the company over its use of the Corona brand name for its hard seltzer. According to AB InBev, a 2013 deal between the two stipulated that Constellation was not to use the name outside of beer products.
On the charts, STZ nabbed a record closing high of $242.12 on Feb. 12. And while the security eclipsed this peak right out of the gate, notching yet another record high of $242.62, it quickly changed direction. The equity's 60-day moving average, which thwarted a bigger pullback attempt earlier this month, could provide some support should today's negative price action worsen. Longer term, the security is up 38.6% over the last nine months.
Constellation stock's options pits have been overwhelmingly optimistic of late. In the past 10 days, 2.36 calls were picked up for every put at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits in the 76th percentile of its annual range, implying that long calls have rarely been more popular in the last 12 months.
Lastly, STZ options are relatively cheap at the moment. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 35% stands higher than just 17% of all other readings in its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.