Put traders are targeting CAT and DE
Equipment stocks Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) are both succumbing to broad-market pressure today, after China announced retaliatory tariffs of 34% on the U.S.
DE was last seen down 4.6% to trade at $426.72, hitting its lowest levels since mid-January. The shares are headed for a third-straight loss and worst week since August 2024. The stock is testing its upward-sloping 200-day moving average today, a trendline to watch going forward.
In the options pits, Deere stock has seen 4,325 puts exchanged so far, seven times the put volume typically seen at this point, in comparison to just 446 calls. The June 370 put is the most popular, with new positions being bought to open.
CAT was off 5.5% at $289.01 at last glance, trading at its lowest level since January 2024. The shares are pacing for their worst weekly performance since March 2020. Keep an eye on the equity's 14-Day Relative Strength Index (RSI), breaching 20 earlier today and firmly in "oversold" territory.
Calls have been more popular than usual leading up to today, per the stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.50 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which ranks higher than 86% of readings from the past year. Today, however, the stock has seen 2,783 puts exchanged in comparison to 1,952 calls.