Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) Bears Come out for Earnings

Put buyers are throttling Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings release, scheduled for after the close today. In fact, puts are crossing the tape at a pace 20 times what's normally seen at mid-morning. The most popular contract by far is the February 15.50 put, which has seen eight times more activity than the next closest option. It appears traders are buying to open these puts, expecting a drop below $15.50 before the close on Friday, when the contracts cease trading.

Looking back at the last eight times MRVL reported earnings, the stock has declined the next day on only two occasions. Moreover, after the most recent earnings release in November, the shares added 5.2% the following session.

On the charts, Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) has added 12.5% in 2015, and is up 0.5% today at $16.31. This technical strength has led to speculators placing bullish bets in recent weeks -- counter to today's activity. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 29.31 ranks in the 92nd percentile of its annual range. Mirroring this trend is the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.13, which is lower than 95% of all similar readings from the past year, meaning near-term speculators are more call-heavy than normal.