Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "equal weight" from "overweight"
The shares of WW International Inc (NASDAQ:WW) are down 4.2% to trade at $30.16 at last check, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "equal weight" from "overweight." While a downgrade, the firm cited WW's notable gains over the last year.
On the charts, WW just hit a fresh annual high of $37.35 in mid-March, with continued support at the 60-day moving average swooping in to catch any recent pullbacks. The security remains 77% above its late-September bottom, and year-to-date has surged 29.1%.
There is still some room for upgrades amongst the brokerage bunch, as coming into today, three of the eight analysts in coverage carry a "hold" or worse rating on WW. Meanwhile, though short interest has fallen 21% during the most recent reporting period, it still makes up 9.8% of the stock's available float. In other words, it would take over three days to buy back these bearish bets, at WW International stock's average pace of trading.
Lastly, now is a perfect time to weigh in on the security's next move with options. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 47% sits in the lowest percentile of its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in low volatility expectations at the moment.