The analyst in coverage also cut its price objective to $500 from $950
Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) stock is down 3.9% to trade at $398.39 at last check, after J.P. Morgan Securities downgraded it to "neutral" from "overweight" and lowered its price objective to $500 from $950. The firm cited the company's compliance issues.
The shares attracted another aggressive bear note earlier this week, which knocked them to their lowest level since January amid resistance from the $650 level. Now pacing for a third-straight daily loss, SMCI carries a 50.5% quarter-to-date deficit, but is up 42.6% in 2024.
The security sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) that sits higher than 91% of annual readings. This indicates puts have been much more popular than usual of late.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 34,000 puts have already crossed the tape, which is triple the volume typically seen at this point. The most popular contract is the weekly 9/6 400-strike put, which expires at the close.