The company also lowered its profit forecast
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) is plummeting this morning, last seen down 15.1% at $156.64 following the retailer's third-quarter earnings report. The company turned in profits of $2.84 per share on $2.64 billion in revenue, missing forecasts on both. The company also lowered its profit forecast, citing the impact a stronger dollar.
Several analysts have rushed in with bear notes. No less than three brokerages slashed their price targets, including UBS, which lowered its rating to "neutral" from "buy," on top of its price-target cut down to $182 from $230.
Sentiment coming into today leaned bullish. Of the 17 in coverage, 10 said "strong buy," compared to seven "hold" ratings. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus price target of $199.78 is a 28.9% premium to current levels.
Today's options activity is going wild. So far, 2,500 calls and 4,346 puts have been exchanged, which is 52 times the intraday average. The most popular position is the November 155 put, followed distantly by the 170 put in the same series.
On the charts, AAP staged an impressive bounce off its late-September low of $154.46, though it ran into a ceiling at the 180-day moving average -- a trendline that's pressured shares lower since April. The auto stock is nearing this September low once more, and bringing the equity's year-to-date deficit to 33.6%.