After a Merrill Lynch analyst tagged Energizer Holdings, Inc. (ENR: sentiment, chart, options) with a downgrade, the shares have plunged more than 6.5%. Specifically the analyst downgraded the shares from "buy" to "underperform" and slashed its 2009 EPS estimates from $6.01 to $5.29, claming the company is too highly leveraged.

Sure, the security plunged 66% from its September high to a low of 30.36 in November, but it has rallied back 75%. The stock is currently holding onto support from its 30-day trendline.

Despite ENR outpacing the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 35% during the past 40 trading sessions, short-term option players are still pessimistically aligned. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.82 indicates that puts outnumber calls among options slated to expire within 3 months.

Furthermore, during the past 10 days on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), option players have bought to open more than 3 puts for every 1 call, pointing to a recent affinity for bearish bets.

Overall, pessimism seems to outweigh optimism. If the stock is able to reclaim any of the ground it lost today, it could see an unwinding of this pessimism in the near term.