CEO Andreas Fibig is planning to retire from the company
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) stock is up 7% to trade at $143.21 at last check, after news that CEO Andreas Fibig is retiring from the company. After his resignation, he will also be stepping down from the board, though he will remain in these positions until a successor is found.
IFF recently hit an Aug. 11 nearly three-year high of $157.08, which came close to the stock's Jan. 17 2018 record high of $157.40. However, the $157 level once again rejected the equity, and the security has taken a tumble on the charts since then. Now climbing back toward those highs, the stock is up 29.7% year-to-date. Today's bounce could have already been in the cards, too, per International Flavors & Fragrances stock's Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 16, which sits firmly in "oversold" territory.
Options traders have been wholeheartedly bullish on IFF, though amid low absolute volume. The stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 9.71 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits higher than all other readings from the past year.
Analysts are of similar sentiment .Of the 11 in coverage, nine carry a "strong buy" rating on the fragrance maker, with two a tepid "hold."
It's also worth pointing out that the stock ranks low on the Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS), with a score of just 6 out of 100. In other words, the security has consistently realized lower volatility expectations than its options have priced in, making the stock a potential premium-selling candidate.