Options Activity Shows Avis Budget (CAR) Could Be Cooking Up a Positive Earnings Surprise

Core Insights - The analysis of CAR stock options indicates a potential price range between $105.55 and $135.30 by the March 20 expiration date, based on the Black-Scholes-derived Expected Move calculator [1] - The volatility skew suggests that traders are more focused on protecting against upside volatility rather than hedging against downside risks, indicating a belief in potential upside for CAR stock [2][3] - Recent options flow data shows a bullish sentiment, with significant net trade sentiment favoring optimistic positions, particularly noted on February 4 with $562,800 above parity and nearly $197 million on January 15 [4] Earnings Report Expectations - Avis Budget Group (CAR) is set to release its earnings report on February 18, and trading patterns in the options market suggest a non-trivial possibility of an earnings surprise [5] - Despite CAR stock losing approximately 22% over the past six months and starting the new year down more than 6%, certain indicators hint at a potential positive surprise [6] Price Movement Projections - The Black-Scholes model indicates that CAR stock is expected to trade within a range that reflects one standard deviation from the current price, with a 68% probability of staying within this range [7][8] - A probabilistic analysis suggests that CAR stock may move between $115 and $145 over the next 10 weeks, with the highest probability density around $133 [14] Analytical Framework - The Markov property is applied to assess future price movements based on current trends, indicating that the recent pattern of three up weeks in the last ten weeks suggests a specific drift pattern for CAR stock [13] - The analysis acknowledges the limitations of various models, including the Black-Scholes assumption of lognormally distributed returns, while arguing that Markov-based analyses provide a more grounded approach to narrowing uncertainty [15][16][17]