Puts Pop as FedEx Stock Dragged by Sector Peer

FDX options are attractively priced at the moment

The shares of FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) are down 3.4% to trade at $191.12 today, on track for its worst day in over a month. FDX is being dragged down by sector peer United Parcel Service (UPS), which reported a first-quarter profit miss and lower revenue expectations thanks to severe winter weather. In response, FDX options traders have come out of the woodwork today with an emphasis on puts.

More specifically, more than 12,000 FDX put options have changed hands today -- double the expected intraday amount, and volume pacing for the 94th percentile of its annual range. Most active by far is the weekly 4/26 192.50-strike put, where new positions are being opened.

Short-term options are attractively priced. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 21% is higher than just 14% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting near-term options are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations for the shares.

Plus, the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) stands at a 90 out of a possible 100. This means the security has tended to make outsized moves over the last year, compared to what the options market had priced in -- a boon to premium buyers.

Today's pullback may have been in the cards, considering FedEx stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) closed last night at 67 -- on the cusp of overbought territory. Prior to today though, FDX had enjoyed a strong start to 2019, adding 18%. However, the shares were swiftly rejected by their 160-day moving average, a trendline not toppled on a closing basis since September.