The company reported a revenue miss though earnings beat forecasts
The shares of Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR), are marginally lower, despite the company reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. Dragging the equity is down is the company's revenue, which missed Wall Street's forecasts as the hotel operating giant continues to struggle amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, Marriot reported a $267 million loss in 2020, the company's first annual loss since 2009. Ahead of the opening bell, MAR is down 0.3% to trade at $130.92.
On the charts, MAR has notched three straight gains this week, slowly working its way toward the $134 level -- an area the equity briefly broke above in early December. The 50-day moving average has stepped back up as a level of support for Marriott stock, though the security has shed 9.4% year-over-year.
Analysts are less than optimistic toward MAR, as 10 of the 17 in coverage recommend a tepid "hold," though the remaining seven do sport a "strong buy" rating. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus price target of $128.97 is a 1.8% discount to last night's close.
The options pits have been bullish during the past 10 weeks. MAR's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.28 at the Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands higher than 89% of all readings from the last year. This means long calls are being picked up at a much faster-than-usual rate.
And it looks like options may be a good way to go when weighing in on the hotel stock's next move. Marriott's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) 43% stands higher than just 9% of all other readings in its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.