The shares of Under Armour, Inc. (UA: sentiment, chart, options) are 3% lower this morning due to a downgrade from Caris & Co. The brokerage firm slashed its opinion on UA from "above average" to "average," and trimmed its price target from $41 to $28. In a note, Caris & Co. said that a slowdown in consumer spending could be troublesome for the athletic apparel firm (which is slated to release its second-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell tomorrow).

On the other hand, option traders are displaying some optimism ahead of UA's earnings report. The International Securities Exchange (ISE) reports that traders on Friday bought 2,125 calls to open on Under Armour, compared to just 141 puts. The stock's single-day call/put ratio on the exchange was 15.07, as bullish bets were 15 times more popular than their bearish counterparts.

While option players have aligned themselves optimistically, short sellers have ramped up their skeptical stance on UA. Short interest swelled by about 10% during the most recent reporting period, and now accounts for a staggering 54% of the equity's available float. In other words, it looks like both the bulls and the bears are looking for a sharp move out of the stock following Tuesday morning's report.

According to First Call, UA has surpassed analysts' per-share earnings estimates in each of the past 4 quarters. Heading into tomorrow's report, analysts on Wall Street are expecting Under Armour to report a profit of less than 1 penny per share.