GE, SNE, and XBIT are among the stocks in the news today
Stock futures are trading north of fair value, following upbeat tax reform comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Among specific names in focus are Dow stock
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), electronics firm
Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), and drugmaker
XBiotech Inc (NASDAQ:XBIT). Here's a quick roundup of the news moving shares of GE, SNE, and XBIT.
General Electric Stock Points Higher Post-Earnings
GE stock is trading 1.1% higher ahead of the bell, after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings -- though
General Electric Company's cash flow turned negative. The shares of GE have added more than 4% in the past month, closing yesterday at $30.27. Today's projected price move could have the stock targeting its 200-day moving average, a trendline GE has not closed north of since Jan. 19.
GE options traders had grown skeptical ahead of earnings, per the stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 1.27 -- in the 78th annual percentile. In other words, puts have been bought to open over calls at an accelerated clip.
Sony Stock Targets New Highs After Promising Forecast
SNE stock could take aim at its Sept. 22 five-year high of $34.17 today, with the shares up 4.6% in electronic trading after closing last night at $32.83. Boosting the stock is
Sony Corp's upwardly revised full-year forecast. Sony will unveil its official results one week from today. More broadly, SNE stock has done well in 2017, up 17.1%. The stock's steady rise has prompted short sellers to throw in the towel, too, with short interest down 41.3% in the two most recent reporting periods to 1.5 million shares -- the fewest since early 2008.
XBiotech Shares Set to Gap Lower On Cancer Drug Disappointment
XBIT stock is bracing for a 33% plunge out of the gate -- which would send the shares into territory not seen since mid-February.
XBiotech Inc said late Thursday a marketing application for its colorectal cancer treatment received a negative "trend" vote from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), lowering its chances of approval. Heading into today's trading, XBIT was sporting a 68.2% year-to-date lead, and closed last night at $17.02. Short sellers will likely be cheering today's expected drop. Short interest accounts for nearly one-third of XBIT stock's available float, or 24 times the security's average daily pace of trading.