JWN remains sharply lower year-over-year despite the company's upbeat results
Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) reported a surprise first-quarter profit of 7 cents per share this morning, compared to the losses of 13 cents per share analysts anticipated. In addition to a revenue beat, the retailer attributed these results to resilient demand from wealthy consumers and improved inventory management. JWN was last seen up 0.8% at $15.42.
Options traders are already blasting Nordstrom stock, with 22,000 puts and 13,000 calls exchanged so far, volume that's a whopping 27 times what is typically seen at this point. The most popular contract is the July 15 put, followed by the weekly 6/2 19-strike call, with new positions being opened at both.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 4.12 ranks in the 95th percentile of annual readings. This means long calls have been getting picked up at a quicker-than-usual clip.
Nordstrom stock remains awfully close to its May 4 multi-year low of $14.02. The shares are also below their year-to-date breakeven level and are off by 39% in the last 12 months.