Stocks related to the cryptocurrency fell yesterday as it pulled back to the $40,000 level
The shares of MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) are up 2% at $445.00 this morning, as they recoup some of yesterday's bitcoin- (BTC) related losses. The cryptocurrency fell back toward the $40,000 level on Monday after a brief breakout in late March, and stocks connected to crypto felt the heat. As a well-known bitcoin buyer, MSTR lost 3.7% on the day during the sector-wide pullback.
It's been a rough year for MicroStrategy stock, which has lost almost 20% in 2022, and 38.6% in the last 12 months. The 100-day moving average swooped in as a rejection level for the equity's late-March rally, though the 60-day moving average helped contain some of yesterday's losses, after acting as a ceiling early last month.
Sentiment surrounding MSTR has been incredibly bearish. Among options traders, 1.24 puts have been picked up for every call at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) during the past 10 weeks. This ratio sits higher than 99% of readings from the past 12 months, indicating a much healthier-than-usual appetite for long puts of late.
In that same vein, the stock sports a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.18, which stands in the 89th percentile of its 12-month range. This points to a heavy put-bias among short-term options traders as well.
Shorts have also been piling on, up 3% in the last reporting period. The 2.21 million shares sold short now make up a hefty 23.8% of the stock's available float, or nearly a week's worth of pent-up buying power.