Earnings season is in full swing. In addition to a number of Dow names and financial firms stepping up to the earnings plate, aerospace giant Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) is slated to unveil its quarterly results before Friday's open. Here's a closer look at how HON stock has been performing ahead of earnings, and how options traders are positioning themselves.
Honeywell stock has added 23.8% year-to-date with help from its 50-day moving average. The equity touched a record high of $145.30 on Oct. 9, but has since consolidated some of these gains, last seen down 0.1% to trade at $143.29.
The stock has historically performed well in the wake of Honeywell's earnings report, and over the past eight quarters, HON shares have moved higher the day after five times. On average, the equity has swung 1.8% in the subsequent session, regardless of direction, in line with what the options market is currently pricing in for Friday's trading.
Short sellers have been raising the bearish stakes recently. Short interest increased by 19% in the last reporting period to 8.51 million shares, the most since September 2015. Nevertheless, these bearish bets account for a slim 1.12% of the stock's available float.