Investors have kept the share prices of DocuSign, Inc. (DOCU) range bound ahead of the company's fiscal second quarter earnings announcement. At first glance, it appears that option traders are positioned for a negative move, as there are a growing number of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:put options in the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:open interest. The unusual option activity could create a strong downward trend in the price action if DocuSign delivers a negative earnings surprise𝓰.

The open interest for DOCU shows an increasing number of put options, and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:option premiums are unusually high right now. Trading volumes indicate that traders have been buying puts and selling calls in anticipation of a negative earnings report. Unwinding these bets could place unex🐓pe𒐪cted upward pressure on the share price of DOCU.

It is challenging to accurately predict the direction a stock will move after earnings. However, a comparison between the stock's price action and option activity shows that, if DOCU delivers a positive report, the company's share price could rise, moving above its 20-day 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:moving average aft♎er the announcement. This could happen because options are priced for a downward move, but unforeseen good news could catch traders off guard and create a swift rise in share price.

A comparison between the details of both stock price and option behavior can grant chart watchers valuable insight. However, it is necessary to understand the context in which this price behavior took place. The chart below depicts the price action for the DOCU share price as of Sept. 1🌺. This created the setup leading into the earnings report.

Current Trends

Over the past month, the trend for DOCU stock has the share price falling below then rising above its 20-day moving average. In this time period, it's notable that the highest DOCU share price was roughly $315 in early August, whereas the lowest share price was $282 only several days later. The price closed in the middle region depicted by the technical studies in this chart.

The studies are formed by 20-day 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Keltner Channel indicators. These depict price levels that represent a multiple of the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Average True Range (ATR) for the stock. This array helps to highlight the way the price has risen above the 20-day moving average in the week before earnings. This price move from DOCU shares implies that investors’ confidence is growing as the earnings 🐓report approaches.

In this context where the price trend for DOCU has closed above its 20-day moving average, chart watchers can recognize that traders and investors are expressing growing confidence going into earnings. It's notable that, in the week before earnings, DOCU's share price has found a stable level, just above the 20-day moving average. That makes it important for chart watchers to determine whether the move is reflecting investors' expectations for favorable earnings or not.

Option trading details can provide chart watchers with additional context to help them form an opinion about investor expectations. Recently, option traders are favoring puts over calls by a narrow margin. On Tuesday, there we🔯re over 2,800 calls traded oppos𝓰ed to over 3,100 puts. Normally, this volume indicates that traders are feeling slightly bearish toward the earnings report.

Trading Activity

Option traders recognize that DOCU shares are in an average range and have priced their options as a bet that the stock will close within one of the two boxes depicted in the chart between today and Sept. 3, the Friday after the earnings report is released. The green-framed box represents the pricing that call option sellers are offering. It implies a 38% probability that DOCU shares will close inside this range by the end ofꦇ the week if prices go higher. The red box represent⭕s the pricing for put options with a 31% chance if prices go lower on the announcement. 

It is necessary to note that the open interest featured over 128,000 calls to over 183,000 puts, demonstrating the bias that option traders had, as traders favored puts over calls. The implied volatility for the higher volume of puts has been rising, indicating that traders are buying these options. This reflects a bearish sentiment around DOCU ea൩rnings. However, because the call box and put box are relatively equal in size, it tells us that the high♑ percentage of purchased put options has only mildly skewed expectations lower. A far more complacent outlook is implied.

The purple lines on the chart are generated by a 10-day Keltner Channel study set at 4 times the ATR. This measure tends to create highly correlated regions of strong 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:support and resistance in the price action. These regions show up when the channel lines make a noticeable turn 🔯within the previous three months. 

The levels that the turns mark are annotated in the chart below. What is notable in this chart is that the call and put pricing are in such a close range with plenty of space to run either way, but with more room to the downside. This suggests option buyers don’t have a strong conviction about how the company will report💝, even though recent call volumes outweigh put volume. Although investors and option traders do not expect it, a surprising report could push prices dramatically higher or lower.

These support and resistance levels show a large range of support and resistance for prices. As a result, it is possible that any news, surprisingly bad or good, will catch investors by surprise and could generate an unusually large move. After the previous earnings announcement, DOCU shares rose 19% the day afte🧜r earnings before rising the following week. Investors may be expecting a dissimilar positi𒅌ve move in the price after this announcement. With plenty of room in the volatility range, share prices could rise or fall more than expected.

Market Impact

DOCU is hardly a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:bellwether stock, so it's unlikely that its earnings announcement will affect indexes directly. No matter what the report says, it's likely to have an effect on stocks in the technology sector and software industry. A positive report could lift other stocks in the sector such as Workday, Inc. (WDAY) or Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK). It could also affect 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:exchange traded funds (ETFs) such as Invesco's QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), Ecofin's Digital Payments Infrastructure Fund (TPAY), or ARK's Innovation ETF (ARKK).