The company’s second-quarter profits beat expectations, however
The shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) are off 3.5% at $188.01 ahead of the bell, following the blue-chip heavy equipment maker’s second-quarter earnings report. CAT posted profits of $3.18 per share, which topped estimates, though its revenue of $14.25 billion fell short of expectations. The company said its sales were dinged by supply chain issues, rising costs, as well as pulling its business out of Russia.
While the equity was able to log a 10.9% lead last month, it still sits at a more than 5.7% year-to-date deficit. The stock saw an impressive rally off its July 14 annual low, though it looks like some of this upside lost steam at the 70-day moving average.
Options traders took a more bearish-than-usual stance on CAT ahead of its second-quarter report. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the security sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.06, which sits higher than 87% of readings from the past year.
Analysts, meanwhile, have been split. Of the 16 in coverage, nine say “buy” or better, and seven say “hold” or worse. Adding to this, the 12-month consensus price target of $220.04 is a relatively slim 17.7% premium to current levels.
