Trading on shares of Cooper Tire & Rubber (CTB: sentiment, chart, options) was halted after the company reported that it expects first-quarter results to arrive "considerably" below expectations due to increased raw-materials costs, product liability claims, and the decline in North American shipment volumes. Analysts are currently looking for earnings of 20 cents per share on revenue of $690.7 million. When the stock resumed trading, CTB quickly plunged more than 12%, tagging a fresh 52-week low in the process.

Short sellers are likely cheering the plunge, as about 18.75% of the stock's total float is sold short. Meanwhile, analysts have little room for downgrades, as Zacks.com reports that 6 of the 8 brokerage firms offering up opinions rate the stock a "hold" or worse. Still, those "holds" could quickly become "sells" if analysts react as strongly as traders have this afternoon. Finally, options speculators have been left in the lurch, as CTB's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.67 ranks below 73% of all those taken during the past year. Should these bulls jump ship following the announcement, it could create additional selling pressure on the shares come Monday morning.

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