Marriot International will report earnings before the open tomorrow, Aug. 2
Hotel giant Marriot International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) is gearing up for its second-quarter earnings release, due out before the open tomorrow, Aug. 2. The shares are struggling to find their footing ahead of the event, last seen down less than 0.1% to trade at $158.73. A recent rally off the 1,000-day moving average helped MAR turn in a 16.8% win last month, marking its biggest monthly jump since February 2021. However, the $160 region, which sits just below Marriot stock's year-to-date breakeven level has served as a stiff ceiling for this rally during the past few sessions.
Marriot's post-earnings history is on its side, with only two of its last eight next-day returns finishing negative. Regardless of direction, MAR has averaged a post-earnings swing of 3.2% during the past two years, which is much smaller than the 6% move options traders are pricing in this time around.
Despite its recent rally, options traders are still incredibly bearish. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), MAR sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 3.20, which sits higher than 96% of readings from the past year.
Echoing this, the travel name's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.12 sits higher than 83% of annual readings. In other words, short-term options traders have been much more put-biased than usual.
Analysts have also been hesitant. Of the 11 in coverage, five say "strong buy," and six say "hold." Additionally, the 12-month consensus price target of $171.26 is just a 7.6% premium to current levels.