How To Make Money Off Of Retail’s Disarray

Retail stocks are slipping further in Wednesday trading, after sliding nearly 2 percent on Tuesday, and some strategists are forecasting yet more losses for the beaten-down group. On Wednesday Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone and TripAdvisor, among other retail names, hit new lows as e-commerce giant Amazon reached an all-time high. Tiffany’s and Signet Jewelers, two luxury names in the group, skidded on Wednesday, too. The XRT, meanwhile, has fallen by more than 1 percent in more than 1 out of every 5 sessions this year. Stacey Gilbert, head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna, said that based on options market activity, “undoubtedly, sentiment in retail is still negative.” To capitalize on the broad moves lower in retail, Gilbert said investors ought to avoid buying a whole basket of stocks but select names they like, which are perhaps oversold. One company in the space Gilbert likes right now is Foot Locker, noting that Susquehanna’s footwear analyst, Sam Poser, marks the name a buy and believes its recent sell-off on weak earnings was overdone. Gilbert would recommend owning July 60-strike calls in the company to have the “embedded protection” that options offer; that is, they fix their owner’s downside, while upside remains unlimited. See more at CNBC.