Financial firm CIT Group (CIT: sentiment, chart, options) is backtracking today, with the shares down more than 6% this afternoon. Investors are reacting to a slew of news, including CIT's announcement Tuesday that it withdrew an application to become a financial holding company. However, the firm said it will continue to make a play for bank holding status, which would allow it to receive bailout dollars from the government.

Additionally, CIT said it will launch a stock offering worth $250 million. The company's concerted efforts to raise cash, along with its reorganization bid to access federal TARP funds, has sparked today's sell-off. "I think any time a company is looking to raise equity with their stock price at such a depressed level, I think that concerns investors," analyst David Chiaverini of BMO Capital Markets told Dow Jones.

In response to the stock's slide, some investors are loading up on put options. CIT's December 7.50 put, which expires this Friday, has seen 1,353 contracts cross the tape on open interest of 327. This configuration suggests that the bulk of today's volume will translate to new open interest tomorrow.

However, these newly added bearish bets aren't too ambitious. At last check, CIT was down 6% to trade at $4.38.