Stocks On the Move: Ascena Retail Group Inc, G-III Apparel Group, Ltd., and Allegheny Technologies Incorporated

U.S. stocks are heading lower, as traders look ahead to this weekend's Italian constitutional referendum. Among specific equities in focus today are retailer stocks Ascena Retail Group Inc (NASDAQ:ASNA) and G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIII), as well as metal producer Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI). Here's a quick look at what's driving ASNA, GIII, and ATI.

• ASNA is up a whopping 21.2% at $7.06, after the company reported earnings last night. Though Ascena Retail Group Inc's per-share earnings fell shy of estimates, revenue came in slightly higher year-over-year, and the firm reported double-digit e-commerce growth in the nine days leading to Cyber Monday. Still, Keybanc cut its price target for the shares to $12 from $13. Today's jump is ASNA's largest percentage gain in more than 14 years and makes the stock today's top Nasdaq Composite (COMP) performer, with the shares attempting to fill September's post-earnings bear gap. In the option pits, bearish bettors may be sweating. ASNA's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) currently stands at 2.56, just 4 percentage points from an annual peak. 
  
  
• Fellow retailer GIII is also moving after earnings, with the shares currently trading up 5.5% at $28.36, after an initial decline of more than 9% -- and drop to three-year lows. GIII reported earnings that came in under analysts' expectations, and cut its full-year sales forecast for 2017. No fewer than five brokerage firms cut their price targets on GIII following earnings, including a cut to $25 from $37 by Telsey Advisory Group. GIII has had a rough 2016, falling more than 36%, and with a rally attempt last month blocked by its 80-day moving average. Most analysts remain optimistic, though, with five out of nine offering up "buy" or better endorsements, and not a single "sell" in sight.
  
  
• ATI is down 6.6% at $16.59, after the company suspended its quarterly dividend. Though ATI is up by 48% so far in 2016, the shares have repeatedly run into resistance at the $18-$19 neighborhood since March. Short sellers may be cheering today's tumble, with ATI's short interest up 7% over the last two reporting periods, now accounting for 22.1% of ATI's float, which would take 8.2 days of trading to cover, at the stock's average daily volume.