WW Stock Brushes Off Bull Note

Morgan Stanley upgraded the Weight Watchers parent to "overweight" from "equal weight"

Weight Watchers parent WW International Inc (NASDAQ:WW) is getting dragged lower, along with the broader market, down 9.8% at $15.22, despite an upgrade to "overweight" from "equal weight" from Morgan Stanley. The analyst predicted a post-coronavirus surge in focus on health and wellness after an extended period of inactivity due to self-isolation.

While WW broke above pressure at its 10-day moving average earlier this week, the shares have been consolidating just below the $17.50 region since. And while the weight loss name is still eyeing a weekly win of 7.3%, WW is down roughly 60% for the year.

Sentiment surrounding WW has skewed lukewarm, with six of the 10 analysts in coverage calling the equity a "hold" or worse. On the other hand, the consensus 12-month price target of $32.82 is more than double current levels.

Bearish bets have been picking up in the options pits. WW sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.01 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits in the 96th percentile of its annual range. This means long puts have been picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip.