Bears see more downside in Sotheby's

Sotheby's has been trending lower, and option activity remains bearish.

optionMONSTER's Depth Charge tracking system detected the purchase of more than 5,000 January 30 puts against open interest of 3,536 contracts. Most of them priced for $4.60 and $4.70.

BID gained 2.07 percent to $31.58 yesterday but has lost more than a quarter of its value in the last year. The auction house attempted to rally in February after rival Christie's reported a surge in business, but results have failed to impress since then.

Implied volatility in BID has also remained elevated at about 47 percent versus its 34 percent historical volatility. Yesterday's put buyers are looking for premiums to shoot even higher, something that often happens as selling reaches a peak.

Overall option volume was 8 times greater than average in the session, according to the Depth Charge. Puts outnumbered calls by 11 to 1.

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