Harley Davidson Stock Revved Up After Earnings

HOG reported earnings of 45 cents per share

Shares of Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG) are up 12.5% to trade at $21.30 after a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat. The motorcycle king reported profits of 45 cents per share, much higher than Wall Street's estimated 9 cents per share, though they also announced a lower-than-anticipated revenue -- unsurprising with 50% of their dealerships now closed. For April, Chief Financial Officer John Olin says retail sales are outperforming dealership closures.

HOG has struggled to break out since hitting an 11-year low of $14.31 on March 23, but today's pop has it shattering the 40-day moving average's ceiling of resistance for the first time since late February. The equity is up around 20% for the month, though still suffers from a 43% year-to-date deficit.

Coming into today, members of the brokerage bunch are hesitant, with 10 of the 12 in coverage sporting a "hold" and the remaining two split between a "buy" and "strong sell." However, the 12-month consensus target price of $24.9 is a 14.3% premium to current levels.

In the options pits, puts look to be a favorite among traders. In the past 10 weeks, 5.67 puts have been bought for every call at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits higher than 96% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting a healthier-than-usual appetite for bearish bets of late.