Put Traders Eat Up Wendy's Stock Before Earnings

Core Insights - Wendy's Co (NASDAQ:WEN) is set to announce its first-quarter earnings on May 2, with significant options trading activity indicating heightened interest and potential volatility ahead of the report [1][2] - The current sentiment among options traders is leaning bearish, as evidenced by a high call/put volume ratio of 7.99, which ranks in the 98th percentile of annual readings [2] - Historically, Wendy's stock has shown mixed performance post-earnings, with an average next-day swing of 2.3% over the last two years, but current options pricing suggests a larger expected move of 7.1% [3] Stock Performance - Wendy's stock is currently trading at $12.47, down 1$12.05 reached on April 9 [4] - The stock has experienced a 23.5% year-to-date decline and has been under pressure from a descending 20-day moving average since late March [4] - The stock's rally attempts have been capped at the $16 level in late February, indicating resistance in the current market environment [4] Volatility Expectations - Wendy's stock has historically outperformed options traders' volatility expectations, as indicated by a Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) rating of 94 out of 100 [7]