Costco Stock Lingers Near Record Before Earnings

Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) has been outperforming on the charts, recently hitting a Sept. 13 record high of $923.82, though the $920 region appears to now be emerging as pressure. Today, COST was last seen up 1.3% at $918.59, looking to add to its 39% year-to-date gain.

The discount retail giant is gearing up for its latest earnings report, due out after the close on Thursday, Sept. 26. The stock finished the session lower following its past two reports this year, and after four total in the last two years. This time around, the options pits are pricing in a next-day swing of 5.7%, regardless of direction, which is higher than the 3.2% move the stock has averaged over the last eight reports. 

Puts have been more popular than usual leading up to the event. This is per COST's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.25 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which ranks higher than 98% of readings from the last 12 months.