Options bears are blasting WW International (WW) today, with 2,010 puts exchanged so far – double the intraday average volume – compared to just 995 calls. Most active is the January 2024 7.50-strike call, but positions are currently opening at the 9.50-strike put in that series.
A catalyst for this unusual bearish activity remains unclear, but the company last week launched a membership plan that grants members access to doctors who can prescribe Novo Nordik’s (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss. The plan also provides insurance coordination and nutrition plans.
WW International stock sports a whopping 142.7% lead for 2023 and is consolidating above the 80-day moving average, after last week settling above this trendline for the first time since mid-October. Prior to that, shares had been chopping around the $6.50 and $7 region following a sharp pullback from their Oct. 10, 52-week high of $13.30.
Options traders overall have leaned overwhelmingly bullish lately, per WW’s 50-day call/put volume ratio of 16.04 over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which ranks higher than 92% of readings from the past year.
The security is heavily shorted, too, leaving the door open for a squeeze. Short interest rose 34.7% in the last two reporting periods, and the 15.59 million shares sold short make up 20.3% of WW’s available float. This equates to nearly four days’ worth of pent-up buying power, at the stock’s average pace of trading.
