Homebuilding Stock Suffers Another Blow After Earnings

Shares of homebuilding name KB Home (NYSE:KBH) are down 5% at $50.26 after the company reported a lackluster fiscal first-quarter report. Adjusted earnings came in-line with estimates at 52 cents per share, while revenue missed expectations at $1.08 billion. Middle East tensions have added more layers of resistance for the equity, including a ding against the housing market.

Several analysts have cut their price targets in response, including to $56 from $62 at Barclays. KBH has taken a 20% haircut this month alone and is now off 14% year-over-year, with several breakout attempts thwarted by $67.50 since the September highs.

Bears had been circling ahead of the event. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) KB Home stock sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 2.83, which sits in the 73rd percentile of its annual range.

This price action has continued today, with 810 puts traded in the first hour alone. This is 11 times the average intraday pace, with most action being seen at the April 45 and 50 puts, where new positions are being bought to open.