NYT has managed to outperform much of the broader market in 2020
Making a move lower this morning is New York Times Co (NYSE:NYT), last seen down 0.6% to trade at $43. Per a filing at the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the newspaper company's CEO Mark Thompson reported an open market sale of nearly 59,000 of common shares on Sept. 1, which averaged at a price of $43.56 per share.
From a broad perspective, NYT has fared relatively well in 2020. Despite hitting a bottom near $26 back in March, the equity hit a 16-year peak of $47.95 on Aug. 6, and now boasts a 34% year-to-date gain. Further, the stock's recent consolidation and brief pullback this week was captured by the supportive 80-day moving average.
A short squeeze could keep the wind at the equity's back. Short interest tailed off by 1.3% in the most recent reporting period. Nevertheless, the 15.90 million shares sold short accounts for 15.4% of NYT's total available float, and almost 22 days' worth of pent-up buying power, at the stock's average pace of trading.
Those that want to take advantage of NYT's next leg higher may want to pursue options. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 32% stands in the 16th percentile of its annual range. This implies that near-term option traders are pricing in extremely low volatility expectations right now on NYT.