B. Riley Downgraded CROX to “neutral” from “buy”
Crocs Inc (NASDAQ:CROX) stock is sliding today, after B. Riley downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy,” with a price-target cut to $101 from $125. The firm cited the company’s “over-inventoried” footwear channel and slowing consumer sales. At last glance, CROX was down 3.1% at $93.39.
On the charts, the $100 level appears to have moved in as pressure in mid-August, while its 30-day moving average is pushing the stock lower as well. On track for its third-straight day of losses and looking to snap a two-week win streak, CROX is down 13.8% since the start of the year.
Call traders appear to be buying in on today’s dip, however. So far, 6,234 calls have been exchanged, which is triple the intraday average amount, in comparison to 1,578 puts. The December 150 call is the most popular, followed by the October 110 call, with new positions being bought to open at the latter.
Options are also well-priced at the moment. The stock’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) of 38% stands higher than just 5% of readings in its annual range, implying options players are pricing in low volatility expectations.
It’s also worth noting that short interest represents 9.5% of the stock’s available float. It would take roughly three days for shorts to cover their positions, at CROX’s average pace of trading.