Deere and Company's striking workers will vote on a modified contract today
Deere and Company (NYSE:DE) is in the spotlight, amid news that its striking workers will vote again today on the modified contract proposed by the company. The roughly 10,000 workers have been on strike since mid-October, and have rejected two previous offers from the farm equipment giant. Plus, DE received a price-target cut from Deutsche Bank to $375 from $383 this morning. At last check, the stock was down 1.8% to trade at $355.41.
On the charts, DE bounced off familiar support at the $320 level in mid October, but has been repeatedly rejected by the $365 level this month. The stock has also gained support from its 20-day moving average and sports a year-to-date lead of 30.6%.
Of the 14 analysts in coverage, 10 carry a "buy" or better rating on Deere stock, with three a "hold" and one "strong sell." Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus price target of $399.08 is a 10.2% premium to current levels.
Options traders have been a bit more bearish. The security sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio that is higher than 77% of its annual readings at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This implies long puts are being picked up at a quicker-than-usual clip. Echoing this, the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.38 stands higher than 89% of readings from the past year, meaning short-term options traders have rarely been more put-biased.