Bears Bombard Finish Line Inc (FINL) During Post-Earnings Collapse

Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) is taking it on the chin today, after the company posted a surprise third-quarter loss, and slashed its fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings outlook. As such, the stock has plunged 20.4% to trade at $23.02 -- second only to ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN) as the Nasdaq's biggest laggard -- and earlier hit a new 52-week low of $22.61. What's more, FINL has earned a place on the short-sale restricted list, sending bearish bettors flocking to the equity's options pits.

Specifically, puts are trading at 21 times the average intraday pace, with buy-to-open activity detected at the equity's January 2015 22.50 strike. By initiating these long puts, traders expect FINL to extend its slide into annual-low territory over the next four weeks.

Going forward, the stock could encounter another wave of selling pressure, should any brokerage firms follow in the footsteps of BofA-Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank, which both issued bearish notes on the security earlier. Of the 15 analysts covering the shares, seven maintain a "strong buy" rating, with not a single "sell" to be found. Plus, the consensus 12-month price target of $29.79 stands at a steep 29.4% premium to current trading levels. Simply stated, the door is wide open for another round of downgrades and/or price-target cuts for Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL).