Buzz Stocks: DuPont, Celldex Therapeutics, Inc., and Marvell Technology Group Ltd.

Today's stocks to watch include DuPont (NYSE:DD), Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX), and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL)

Josh Selway

Mar 7, 2016 at 10:08 AM

DOW
MRVL
CLDX
DD

U.S. stocks are slightly lower this morning, despite rising crude oil futures. Among equities in focus are chemical giant DuPont (NYSE:DD), drugmaker Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX), and semiconductor stock Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL).

DD is up 2.4% at $64.57, on reports that Germany’s BASF SE is considering a counterbid for the company, which announced plans to merge with Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) back in December. DuPont has now added over 27% since its year-to-date low of $50.71 from late January, and options traders have seemingly positioned themselves on the bullish side of the aisle. Specifically, DD's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.34 represents an annual low, meaning short-term speculators are more call-skewed now than at any point in the past year.

CLDX decided to halt the Phase 3 study of its brain cancer vaccine, Rintega, on the recommendation of an independent panel. As a result, the stock has lost over half its value out of the gate to trade at $3.89, and earlier hit a roughly four-year low of $3.70. The shares have now fallen over 86% in the past 12 months, bringing short sellers to the table -- as short interest now represents over one-fourth of Celldex Therapeutics, Inc.'s float. If bullish analysts continue to throw in the towel, even more losses could be in store. This morning, Guggenheim lowered its opinion to "neutral" from "buy," while Oppenheimer downgraded its rating to "perform" from "outperform."

MRVL has popped 2.4% out of the gate to $9.98, after The New York Post reported the company is open to selling itself. After spending several months bouncing mostly between $8 and $9, the shares have broken out to the upside, gaining 35% since their three-year low of $7.40 on Jan. 20. Marvell Technology Group Ltd. could extend this rally if bearish sentiment unwinds in the options pits. MRVL's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands at 1.08 -- just 2 percentage points from an annual high.

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