Computer hardware giant Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) is sharply lower today, last seen down 7% at $124.44, after a double-downgrade from Morgan Stanley to "underweight" from "overweight," with a price-target cut to $110 from $144. The firm cited surging memory drive prices, which is a key component in servers and PCs.
Dell Technologies stock has been in freefall since its Nov. 3 one-year high of $167.94, with shares now on track for their 12th loss out of the 14 trading sessions, now trading at their lowest levels since early September. On the charts, the 160-day moving average lingers right at today's low, which could be keeping losses in check. For those betting on a trend reversal, it's worth noting that the security's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) of 14 resides firmly in "oversold" territory.
Options traders are chiming in after the bear note, with 16,000 calls and 13,000 puts exchanged so far -- double the options volume typically seen at this point. The November 120 put is the most popular contract, followed by the November 138 call.
Calls have been much more popular than usual over the last 10 weeks, too. DELL's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.52 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits higher than all other readings from the past year.
