The company pushed its acquisition of Avast back to April 4
Still awaiting regulatory nods in the U.K. and Spain, NortonLifeLock Inc (NASDAQ:NLOK) announced that it has moved back the expected completion date of its acquisition of rival cybersecurity company Avast to April 4 from Feb. 24. The cash-and-stock deal is worth northwards of $8.6 billion, and is now slated for completion at the end of NortonLifeLock's fiscal year 2022.
After spring boarding off the 80-day moving average, NLOK soared to a Feb. 10, all-time high of $30.92. Amid the Russia-Ukraine tensions that have plagued early 2022, the equity pulled back sharply alongside the broader market in the following session, though the $28 level stepped up to halt further losses. In response to today's news, NortonLifeLock stock was last seen 0.3% lower to trade at $27.98.
A shift in the options pits could put wind at NLOK's back. This is per the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.97, which stands in the highest percentile of its annual range. This indicates near-term put open interest outweighs call open interest.
Echoing this, NortonLifeLock stock's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.65 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), sits higher than 99% of readings from the past year.