The homebuilder showed shrinking gross margins that overshadowed a top-line beat
Lennar Corp (NYSE:LEN) stock is in focus today, after the homebuilder reported fourth-quarter earnings last night. While Lennar reported quarterly earnings, revenue, and new orders that bested Wall Street's estimates, it also showed lower-than-expected gross margins and withheld its full-year margin forecast.
LEN is down 1.8% to trade at $152.10 at last check. Just yesterday, the shares hit an all-time high of $155.43, with support in place at their 20-day moving average, a trendline that's stepped up since a late October bull gap. Year to date, the equity is up over 65%.
Lennar's typically quiet option spits are bustling with activity following the event. Already today, over 7,500 calls and 6,100 puts have been traded, volume that's six times the average intraday amount and pacing for the 99th percentile of its annual range. New positions are being sold to open at the most popular December 155 call that expires at the end of today's session.
Options traders have been more bearish than usual lately, per Lennar stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.74 sits higher than 74% annual readings, suggesting short-term traders have rarely been more put-biased.