With Black Friday and the holidays looming, the retail sector is generating a lot of buzz this morning. At last check, Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) stock was last seen down 1.3% to trade at $79.94, despite the tech retailer on Tuesday announcing better-than-expected revenue of $9.6 million.
BBY has struggled with overhead resistance from the $84 level since March, while the $72 region has captured several pullbacks over the last few months. The equity is also looking to log its first monthly loss since July, and still carries a 6.9% year-to-date deficit despite a 20.6% six-month lead.
Options traders lean bullish. This is per BBY's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.17 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which stands higher than 90% of all other readings from the past year.
Shares of retail sector peer Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) are up 0.6% to trade at $22.56 at last check. The company will report third-quarter results before the open on Tuesday, Dec. 3, with Wall Street analysts predicting a loss of $0.14 per share on revenue of $4.59 billion, both reflecting a notable year-over-year decline.
M has added more than 40% over the last 12 months, and is headed for its fifth-straight monthly gain and third consecutive session in the black. The equity on Wednesday hit a two-year high of $22.93 on a bounce off the $19 level, with additional long-term support stemming from the 40-day moving average.
Macy's stock has a mixed post-earnings history, but added 20.7% after its last report in September. Overall, the equity has averaged a next-day move of 6.2% in the last two years, regardless of direction, with traders pricing in a 12.5% move this time around.
