Fourth-Quarter Miss Sinks Wells Fargo Stock

Wells Fargo's profits for its fourth quarter dropped 55% from last year

The shares of Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) are struggling today. The bank concern stepped into the earnings confessional with adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 93 cents per share, lower than the $1.12 estimates and down 55% year-over-year due to mounting legal costs and a lower interest rate environment. The firm also posted revenue of $19.9 billion that was below analysts' estimates. At last check, WFC is down 3.7% before the bell in response.

On the charts, the stock has been sinking lower after consolidating under the $54.50 region in November and December. Yesterday, WFC was testing its footing at the 80-day moving average -- a trendline the equity just finished south of for the first time in four months. The stock is still set to hang on to its year-over-year gain, though.

While the brokerage bunch has been quiet this morning, there's already plenty of caution surrounding Wells Fargo. In fact, 17 in coverage call it a "hold" or worse, while only two see it as a "strong buy." What's more, the consensus 12-month target price of $53.33 is a slim 2.3% premium to last night's close of $52.11.

There has been a preference for puts in the options pits. Currently, WFC sports a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.06, which sits in the 90th percentile of its annual range. This suggests that short-term option players have rarely been more put heavy in the last 12 months.