Bearish speculation is on the rise toward Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR), according to volume data from the major options exchanges. During the past five sessions, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) have bought to open 10,526 puts on GMCR, compared to only 5,133 calls -- netting the coffee stock a put/call volume ratio of 2.05, with bearishly biased options more than doubling their bullish counterparts.
Broadening our scope, GMCR has racked up a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.46 on the ISE, CBOE, and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio ranks higher than 89% of other such readings taken during the last year, pointing to a stronger-than-usual preference for puts over calls in recent weeks.
Similarly, Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for GMCR weighs in at 2.04, as puts comfortably outnumber calls among options set to expire within three months. This top-heavy ratio ranks in the 98th percentile of its annual range, as short-term options traders have rarely been more put-heavy on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.
This negative sentiment isn't limited to the options pits, either. Despite a 6.3% decline during the most recent reporting period, short interest still accounts for a steep 25% of the equity's float. At GMCR's average daily trading volume, it would take more than two weeks for all of these shorted shares to be covered.
Traders appear to be pricing in some anxiety over Green Mountain's upcoming earnings report, as the company is slated to confess its fiscal second-quarter results after the market closes this Wednesday, May 8. Analysts, on average, are expecting the Vermont-based firm to earn 74 cents per share on $1.025 billion in revenue. In each of the past four reporting periods, GMCR has either matched or exceeded Wall Street's bottom-line estimates.
Meanwhile, from a technical perspective, the stock still looks appealing. GMCR has gained more than 42% year-to-date, and is currently perched at $58.77. The shares have slowed their progress a bit as the $60 level approaches, but it would seem there's still plenty of sideline cash available to help fuel GMCR through this round-number barrier.
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