Trip.com Group Ltd (NASDAQ:TCOM) stock is down 16% to trade at $63.59 at last glance, after China's travel giant revealed it is facing an antitrust probe by the country’s business regulator over a suspected monopoly.
The equity is now pacing for its biggest single-day percentage loss since November 8, 2018, and trading at its lowest levels since August. The stock is also breaking below the 120-day moving average, which acted as support in December, and falling into negative territory year over year.
Options traders have leaned more bearish than usual, per the security's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.05 over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which ranks higher than 97% of readings from the last year.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 11,000 calls and 11,000 puts have crossed the tape so far, which is a whopping 73 times the intraday average amount. The most active contract is the January 16, 2026 65-strike call, with new positions currently being sold to open there.
Options are a solid way to be on the stock's next moves, as they are affordably priced. This is per TCOM's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 29% that stands in the 10th percentile of annual readings.
