Entering the holiday season, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) can’t keep its stores stocked, says the Wall Street Journal. According to the paper’s report, numbers from data analytics company DataWeave show more than 40% of the housewares retailer’s products were out of stock in October.
Bed Bath & Beyond stock was last seen 1.5% lower to trade at $3.28. The company’s previous leadership attempted to replace national brands with private-label brands, and effort that resulted in a steep slide in sales and pushed BBBY to penny-stock territory. In the last 12 months, the equity is down roughly 85%.
Short-term options traders are the most bullish they’ve been in a year, which could mean some investors are attempting to find Bed Bath & Beyond stock’s bottom. This is according to BBBY’s Schaeffer’s put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.38 that stands in the lowest percentile of its annual range. So, while calls still outpace puts on an overall basis, the penchant for bearish bets has never been higher.
The stock remains heavily shorted, as the 30.82 million shares sold short account for 35.8% of BBBY’s available float. The amount of short interest tied up into the shares means some call buyers could be short sellers that are looking to hedge their bets.
Many investors are familiar with the idiom that “cash is king.” It’s typically a rallying cry for bearish investors when equity markets are in a downturn. The idea is that when stocks are down, cash is a safe place to park your capital until better days arrive.
The purpose of this presentation isn’t to refute this timeless advice, but rather to help you think about it in a different way. We frequently remind investors that there’s money to be made in any market. But when equities are falling, it requires investors to sharpen their focus. And cash plays a role.
Specifically, investors should look for companies that have a strong balance sheet that includes access to a lot of cash. Not only does this mean that these companies can manage their debt, but it also means that they can use that cash to add shareholder value either through stock buybacks or, preferably for income investors, a healthy and growing dividend.
With that in mind, here are seven cash rich stocks that offer investors a level of safety in any market.
Read More: Bed Bath & Beyond’s Inventory Low Ahead of Holiday Season