The security is brushing off a lackluster full-year outlook
Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) is the latest Dow member to hit the earnings confessional. The home improvement retailer reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue. The same-store sales drop was also smaller than anticipated, as a shift to small-scale home projects helped offset slowing demand for pricier items. While the company narrowed its full-year guidance, HD is still up 6.5% at $306.62 at last check.
The shares are today eyeing their first close above their 40-day moving average since mid-September, and are on track to conquer the $300 level, which capped their October rally. The security is working to distance itself from an Oct. 27, one-year low of $274.43, but is still down 4% in 2023.
An unwinding of short-term options traders' pessimism could generate additional tailwinds. This is per HD's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.50 that sits in the 87th percentile of readings from the past 12 months, suggesting a bearish bias amongst these traders.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 13,000 calls and 12,000 puts have already crossed the tape, or 11 times the intraday average volume. Most popular is the November 310 call, followed by the 305 call in the same series.