A return to theaters amid looser Covid-19 restrictions helped results
The actions of Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) are down 0.6% at $17.65 this morning, despite the movie company sharing fourth-quarter earnings of $0.05 per share, surprising analysts who had expected a loss of 13 cents per share. Cinemark’s revenue of $666.7 also beat expectations, with the company noting that its strong quarterly results came from returning to theaters as Covid-19 restrictions eased.
The stock appears to have found its way to the 60-day moving average, but still has to contend with its 200- and 320-day moving averages – which have acted as a canopy for stocks since mid-November – if it is to rally. in the charts. CNK is up 8.6% year-to-date and up more than 30% from its January 28 year low of $13.37.
Short sellers have multiplied, with short interest rising 13.7% in the last reporting period. The 22.66 million shares sold short represent 21.2% of the stock’s free float and would take more than seven days to buy back, at the stock’s average daily trading rate.
A similar sentiment can be seen in the option stands. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), CNK has a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 9.54, which is in the 98th percentile of its annual range. This means that long puts have rarely been more popular over the past year.
Short-term options traders were also much more biased than usual. This is CNK Schaeffer’s put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.67, which exceeds 97% of last year’s readings.
However, today’s options activity is more call-centric. In the first half hour of trading, 1,946 calls broke through the band, triple the intraday average. The March 17 50 call is by far the most popular contract, followed by the 20 call in the same monthly series.
