Shares of Fuel Tech (FTEK: sentiment, chart, options) have dipped below key round-number support at the 10 level today, despite AmTech Research initiating coverage on the shares with a "buy" rating. For the record, FTEK provides boiler optimization, efficiency improvement and air pollution reduction and control solutions to utility and industrial customers worldwide.

Prior to this morning's initiation, Zacks.com reported that analysts had doled out just 2 "buy" ratings versus to 6 "holds." Short sellers are equally as bearish on FTEK, as more than 41% of the stock's float is sold short. However, options traders are heavily bullish on the shares, with FTEK's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.91 ranking below 80% of all those taken during the past year.

Technically speaking, the stock is deserving of a fair degree of negativity. Since setting a near-term peak of $24.76 on September 19, FTEK has plummeted more than 60%. Furthermore, the shares have been paced by overhead resistance at their falling 10-day and 20-day moving averages. With today's breach of key support at the 10 level, we could finally see those bullish options traders bail on the shares, thus increasing selling pressure and sending FTEK further along its downtrend.