Mattel Stock Spirals to New Low on CEO Split
Margaret Georgiadis has resigned as the chief executive of embattled MAT
The U.S. stock market is in the red today, but still on track for a weekly win. Among individual stocks making big moves are toymaker Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT), Apple supplier Qorvo Inc (NASDAQ:QRVO), and photocopy specialist Xerox Corp (NYSE:XRX). Here's a quick look at what's moving shares of MAT, QRVO, and XRX.
Pre-Earnings Mattel Put Options Popular
Mattel stock hit a nine-year low of $12.21 earlier, and was last seen trading down 4.9% at $12.79. Pressuring the shares is news the company's CEO Margaret Georgiadis is resigning after just 14 months on the job -- a time frame in which the stock has surrendered more than 50%. She will be replaced by board member and former head of Maker Studios Ynon Kreiz, effective April 26.
Several Mattel options traders appear to be betting on even bigger losses over the next several weeks, which includes the toymaker's earnings report, due out after next Thursday's close. Bucking the recent bullish trend, early 13,000 puts have traded so far -- nearly nine times what's typically seen at this point in the day -- with buy-to-open activity detected at the weekly 4/27 12.50-strike and May 12 puts.
Bullish Options Prices Drop With Qorvo Stock
Qorvo shares are 0.5% lower today at $70.31 -- hit by headwinds from Apple (AAPL) and a price-target cut to $75 from $80 at Citigroup. The stock has sold off sharply since topping out at a two-year high of $86.84 last month, and a recent rebound attempt was quickly halted near $74. This level coincides with a 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of QRVO's January-through-March surge.
Against this backdrop, short-term call options are pricing in remarkably low volatility expectations compared to their put counterparts. QRVO's 30-day implied volatility skew of 10.3% ranks in the 91st annual percentile.
Xerox Stock Pops on Reports of Fujifilm Renegotiations
Xerox stock is trading up 3.8% at $31.47, amid reports the company is renegotiating a joint venture deal with Japan's Fujifilm, valued at roughly $6.1 billion. The deal has been opposed by XRX shareholders Darwin Deason and Carl Icahn, who both say it undervalues the printing firm.
XRX shares are now on track for their highest close since Feb. 2, and headed for their biggest weekly gain since January 2017 -- up 11.4% so far. Options traders are targeting even more upside over the next four weeks. Xerox's May 30 call has seen the biggest rise in open interest over the last two weeks, and data from the major options exchanges confirms the contracts were mostly bought to open.