BBY Stock Slammed After Executive Chairman Steps Down

Former company CEO Hubert Joly announced his resignation as Executive Chairman today

The shares of Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) are having a rocky day on the charts, now down 13.1% at $56.82, lower on the heels of the company's Executive Chairman, Hubert Joly's, resignation. Joly, who formerly served as the company's CEO, will not stand for re-election at the June 11 shareholder meeting, and J. Patrick Doyle will take over the executive role.

The stock hit an annual low of $55.20 earlier today, with today's bear gap bringing the stock's year-to-date deficit to roughly 35%. While this dramatic spiral can mostly be contributed to the seemingly unstoppable drop the broader market has been experiencing, the shares' late-2019 rally appears to have ran out of steam near the $91 region. And while BBY managed to inch north of this area to notch a record high of $91.99 on Feb. 20, it goes without saying that the equity hasn't even come close to toppling this ceiling since.

This recent dip has brought in the bears. In fact, during the last 10 days, 2.68 puts were picked up for every call at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits higher than all other readings from the past 12 months, indicating a much healthier-than-usual appetite for long puts of late.

There is still a surprising amount of bullish sentiment among the brokerage bunch, though. Of the 16 in coverage, seven call BBY a "strong buy," with not a "sell" to be seen. Plus, the consensus 12-month target price of $90.51 is just a chip shot away from Best Buy's record highs, or a 59.6% premium to current levels.