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Fastly Stock Falls on Forecast Despite Earnings Beat

Options volume is now running at three times what's typically seen at this point

Deputy Editor
Feb 18, 2021 at 11:16 AM
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The shares of Fastly Inc (NYSE:FSLY) are plummeting today, down 11.1% to trade at $84.30 at last check, after the cloud service company's dismal first quarter and 2021 forecast outweighed its quarterly report. Fastly eked out better-than-expected fourth-quarter losses per share, alongside a revenue beat. In response, no fewer than four analysts raised their price targets on the security, with the highest coming from D.A. Davidson to $105 from $90. 

Fastly stock has had a rough time on the charts since hitting overhead pressure at the $120 level last week, and is now eyeing its sixth-straight day in the red. Furthermore, today's steep drop has FSLY dropping below the 180-day moving average for the first time since early May. Year-over-year, the equity still sports an impressive 241.3% lead.

Analysts were split on the security coming into today, with five of the 11 in coverage carrying a "buy" or better rating, while six said "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, the stock's 12-month consensus price target of $80.91 is a 1.9% discount to its current perch.

It's also worth noting that though shorts have started to jump ship, short interest makes up a whopping 109.3% of the stock's available float. In other words, the 14.14 million shares sold short would take nearly three days to buy back, at FSLY's average pace of trading. 

Elsewhere, options traders are chiming in after the event, with options volume running at three times what's typically seen at this point. More specifically, 47,000 calls and 36,000 puts have already crossed the tape so far. The February 100 call is the most popular, followed by the 85 put in the same monthly series, with contracts expiring tomorrow.

The stock also seems to have been a good target for premium buyers in the past year, based on its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 90 out of 100. In other words, the shares have regularly made bigger moves than options traders were pricing in during the last 12 months.

 

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