Options traders are blasting M and DKS this morning
Retail giants Dick's Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE:DKS) and Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) are fresh off the earnings confessional. The former missed second-quarter expectations and issued a downbeat annual forecast citing retail theft, while the latter is brushing off better-than-anticipated results for the second quarter due to a weak fiscal third-quarter forecast.
DKS is getting the harshest blow out of the two, last seen down 23.1% at $113.11. The shares are currently trading at their lowest level so far this year, after once again running into long-term resistance from the $150 level. Dick's Sporting Goods stock is now down 7.4% in 2023.
M is struggling in its own right, down 8.6% at $13.47. Shares are now within a chip shot from their June lows near the $12 region, as they wrestle with overhead pressure at their 20-day moving average, which swung into place earlier this month. Macy's stock is off 32.9% year-to-date.
Option traders are blasting both equities. Already, 14,000 puts and 8,575 calls have been exchanged for DKS -- 41 times the intraday average -- with the weekly 8/25 108-strike put standing out as the most popular. They are taking a more bullish tone on M, though, with 15,000 calls and 7,563 puts traded, which is 10 times the average daily volume. For the latter, the weekly 8/25 14-strike call is the most popular.