Massey Energy Company (MEE: sentiment, chart, options) dropped nearly 2% today, after the company was initiated with a "hold" rating by Citigroup. The bearish coverage seems to make sense, as the security has trailed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 20% during the past 60 trading days.

The stock has made some progress on the charts, adding 18% since Jan. 31, 2008, but the security is still facing resistance from its 70-day moving average and the round-number 20 region, a territory not explored since November.

However, despite the stock's less-than-stellar performance, brokerage firms are expecting an upward spike. Zack's reports that 7 analyst currently rate the shares with a "buy" or better recommendation while 4 suggest "hold" ratings. With not a "sell" to be found, there is plenty of room for downgrades. Additionally, the security's average 12 month price target, as reported by Thomson Financial is docked at $36, a premium of 116% to Thursday's closing price.

Also, the securities Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.42, indicates that calls more than double puts among options slated to expire within 3 months. This ratio is also lower than 95% of all similar readings, meaning short-term option players have been more bullishly aligned just 5% of the time during the past year.

Furthermore, the equity's 10 day call/put ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), comes in at 6.81, indicating investors have bought to open nearly 7 calls for every 1 put during the past 10 trading days. This ratio comes in at an optimistic peak, meaning recent option activity hasn't been more bullish at any other time during the prior 52 weeks.

In conclusion, if the stock unable to make some serious progress on the charts, it could see an unwinding of this optimism, propelling it even lower.