MAC

Who paid the rent? Real estate earnings season kicks off this week with more than 200 REITs and housing industry companies reporting earnings over the next month.Rent collection - a metric that was rarely reported in the pre-COVID-19 era - has become the most critical statistic tracked by investors due to its impact on dividend-paying capacity.Dividend cuts have been a major theme throughout the pandemic. 65 of 170 equity REITs have reduced their dividend, but since the start of Q3, dividend increases have outnumbered cuts.REITs enter third-quarter earnings season as the third-worst performing out of 11 GICS equity sectors. Improving rent collection and dividend commentary could be a positive catalyst to drive a recovery.While many commercial property sectors have struggled, several "essential" property sectors have thrived throughout the pandemic. We discuss the trends that we're watching this earnings season in each of the real estate property sectors.

U.S. equity markets finished flat this week as better-than-expected economic data and earnings results were offset by a continued fiscal stalemate and pressure on technology stocks amid a censorship controversy.The S&P 500 managed to eke out a 0.1% gain this week. The Nasdaq 100 ended the week on a four-day skid as Twitter and Facebook face Congressional subpoenas.Coming off its best two-week gain since April, a sharp sell-off among COVID-sensitive property sectors sent Equity REITs lower by 2.7% with 17 of 18 property sectors in negative territory.Retail sales were far stronger than expected in September, gaining for the fifth month in a row and setting new record highs. Retail sales are now higher by 5.4% from last year, led by the e-commerce and home improvement categories.While retail sales and housing data have exhibited continued strength, the employment recovery has shown signs of losing steam in recent weeks with Initial Jobless Claims coming in above estimates.

I don’t want to see any businesses – or investors – fail because of circumstances that are completely out of their control.This pandemic and subsequent shutdowns weren’t any REITs’ fault.Yet they’re suffering anyway.

On Thursday, shares of Macerich (NYSE: MAC) saw unusual options activity. After the option alert, the stock price moved up to $7.22. * Sentiment: BULLISH * Option Type: TRADE * Trade Type: PUT * Expiration Date: 2020-11-20 * Strike Price: $8.00 * Volume: 504 * Open Interest: 1276Three Indications Of Unusual Options Activity Extraordinarily large volume (compared to historical averages) is one indication of unusual options market activity. Volume refers to the total number of contracts traded over a given time period when discussing options market activity. Open interest is the number of unsettled contracts that have been traded but not yet closed by either counterparty. In other words, open interest represents the quantity of contracts that individual parties have written but not yet found a counterparty for (i.e. a buyer finding a seller, or a seller finding a buyer).Another sign of unusual activity is the trading of a contract with an expiration date in the distant future. Usually, additional time until a contract expires allows more opportunity for it to reach its strike price and grow its time value. Time value is important to consider because it represents the difference between the strike price and the value of the underlying asset.Contracts that are "out of the money" are also indicative of unusual options activity. "Out of the money" contracts occur when the underlying price is under the strike price on a call option, or above the strike price on a put option. These trades are made with the expectation that the value of the underlying asset is going to change dramatically in the future, and buyers and sellers will benefit from a greater profit margin.Understanding Sentiment Options are "bullish" when a call is purchased at/near ask price or a put is sold at/near bid price. Options are "bearish" when a call is sold at/near bid price or a put is bought at/near ask price.Although the activity is suggestive of these strategies, these observations are made without knowing the investor's true intentions when purchasing these options contracts. An observer cannot be sure if the bettor is playing the contract outright or if they're hedging a large underlying position in a common stock. For the latter case, the exposure a large investor has on their short position in common stock may be more meaningful than bullish options activity.Using These Options Strategies Unusual options activity is an advantageous strategy that may greatly reward an investor if they are highly skilled, but for the less experienced trader, it should remain as another tool to make an educated investment decision while taking other observations into account.For more information to understand options alerts, visit https://pro.benzinga.help/en/articles/1769505-how-do-i-understand-options-alertsSee more from Benzinga * Options Trades For This Crazy Market: Get Benzinga Options to Follow High-Conviction Trade Ideas * Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For September 14, 2020 * Unusual Options Activity Insight: Macerich(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

This article presents a list of stocks with the highest short interest as a percentage of shares outstanding.An unprecedented year amid the COVID-19 pandemic driving historic volatility has represented significant trading opportunities for short-sellers.We analyze key trends and how to best interpret the short interest data.

Publicly-held real estate securities can be used to establish the equivalent of a long term real estate portfolio.This approach is intended to take on the characteristics of real estate investing as opposed to focusing on market timing and an agility to take quick profit.At present there is a large disparity between the prices of publicly held real estate securities and what their fair private value is and this discrepancy can be exploited.

We know that hedge funds generate strong, risk-adjusted returns over the long run, which is why imitating the picks that they are collectively bullish on can be a profitable strategy for retail investors. With billions of dollars in assets, professional investors have to conduct complex analyses, spend many resources and use tools that are not […]