Goldman Sachs has lagged the broader market this year, and Todd Gordon of TradingAnalysis.com says the charts are giving off warning signs of an even bigger drop ahead.
Shares of the big bank have fallen nearly 1 percent in 2017, significantly underperforming the S&P 500, Dow and XLF financial ETF, which are up 15, 18 and 12 percent respectively during that time.
It's that underperformance and the recent rally in bonds that leads Gordon to believe there's more pain in store.
"You can see that the daily chart is sitting on the shelf right around the $237 mark. It looks to be in this little pocket of volatility that we're seeing in the market," Gordon said Tuesday on CNBC's "Trading Nation." Goldman should be able to go down and retest this $230 level which we're seeing." Gordon pointed to the stock's gap above that $230 level in late September, noting that "markets do like to close gaps." That's roughly 3 percent lower than where the stock is currently trading.
To play for a move lower, Gordon wants to buy the December 235-strike puts and sell the December 230-strike puts for a total of $1.78, or $178 per options spread. The trade expires on Dec. 15, meaning that if shares of Goldman close above $235 on Dec. 15, then Gordon would lose the $178 he paid to make the trade.
But if Gordon's prediction plays out and Goldman closes below $230 on Dec. 15, then the trader could make a maximum reward of $322.
Goldman shares were lower by around 1 percent on Tuesday.
