The electric vehicle maker reports earnings after the close tomorrow, March 24
The shares of Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO) are down 0.6% today, last seen trading at $21.62 as the Tesla (TLSA) competitor gets ready to step into the earnings confessional. Nio is set to report fourth-quarter financial results after the close tomorrow, March 24, and analysts are anticipating a loss of -2.97 Chinese Yuan, or around 47 cents.
A look back at Nio stock's post-earnings history during the past two years shows a overwhelmingly dismal response, with only one of the last eight next-day sessions ending higher -- a 2.2% rise last April. NIO has averaged a large post-earnings swing of 7.2%, regardless of direction. This time around, the options market is pricing in a much larger move of 13%.
The equity has steadily trended lower over the last six months, culminating in a 19-month low of $13.01 on March 15. Pressure from the 60-day moving average remains firmly overhead, and in the last 12 months Nio stock has shed more than 46%.
The options pits have been pessimistic, with puts popular over the last 10 weeks. Over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Nio stock sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio that sits higher than 99% of annual readings. This suggests long puts are getting picked up at a much quicker-than-usual pace.
Short sellers have been piling on NIO of late. Specifically, short interest added 16.5% in the last two reporting periods, and the 78.11 million shares sold short make up 6% of the stock's available float, or just over one day worth of pent-up buying power.