DB has replaced John Cryan, effective immediately
Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) is up 2.3% to trade at $14.19 this morning, after the German lending giant appointed Christian Sewing as its new chief executive officer, replacing embattled CEO John Cryan, effective immediately. Morgan Stanley noted that the appointment of Sewing, who most recently served as co-deputy chief executive of the bank, signals "managerial continuity," with the brokerage firm reiterating its "equal weight" rating.
Heading into today's trading, Deutsche Bank stock had given back 27% in 2018, and hit an an annual low of $13.52 on April 3. Longer term, the shares have shed more than half their value since Cryan first took over as CEO back in July 2015.
Against this backdrop, most analysts have remained skeptical of DB stock. All three of the brokerages following the bank's U.S.-listed shares maintain a "hold" or worse rating.
This pessimism is seen in the options pits, too. DB sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.90 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) -- in the 92nd percentile of its annual range, meaning puts have been bought to open relative to calls at a faster-than-usual clip.
It's pretty pricey to buy premium on short-term bearish options, relatively speaking. DB stock's 30-day implied volatility skew of 37% ranks in the 99th annual percentile -- and topped out at a 52-week peak last Thursday -- meaning put options are pricing in higher volatility expectations than their call counterparts at the moment.