Investors are turning away from tech stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up over 110 points midday, keeping with this mornings gains as yesterday's vaccine news has the blue-chip index cruising toward its sixth win in seven trading days. This positive sentiment has mixed results elsewhere, however, with "stay-at-home stocks" -- particularly the tech sector -- selling off, while "reopening stocks" rise. In response, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are both in the red, the latter heading toward its second-straight day of triple-digit losses.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Applied Materials stock has unique positioning ahead of earnings.
- How this fashion retailer has been faring after quarterly reports.
- Plus, options traders unpack Beyond Meat's slide; XPER surges after Comcast agreement; and ARNA plummets after its eczema trial.
One stock seeing notable options activity today is Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ:BYND), down 20.3% at $119.96 after a dramatic third-quarter earnings and revenue miss. Amid no fewer than eight other analyst price-target cuts and one raised price target from Wells Fargo, Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral," and UBS adjusted its rating to "neutral" from "sell" -- with both adding their own price-target cuts into the mix. So far today, 68,000 calls 64,000 puts have crossed the tape -- seven times what's typically seen at this point, with new positions being opened at the most popular option, the weekly 11/13 110-strike put. Dropping below long-term support at the $120 level to hit its lowest point since May, BYND is still up 55.9% year-to-date.
Meanwhile, Xperi Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:XPER) is up 21% at $16.85 after an upbeat third-quarter report, as well as an announcement that its subsidiary TiVo entered into a 15-year patent license agreement with Comcast Corp. This ends a long-term patent dispute between the two, and prompted a price-target hike from Craig-Hallum to $24 from $20. Currently gapping to levels not seen since mid-August, the stock is still down 19% year-over-year.
Elsewhere, Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ARNA) is down 26% at $64.78 at last check, after its lead drug etrasimod failed its mid-stage eczema trial. The company also reported a mixed third-quarter report, with narrower-than-expected losses per share alongside a revenue miss. To follow, no fewer than four analysts cut their price targets, including RBC to $76 from $80. Now plummeting to meet support at the 160-day moving average, the stock is still up around 46% year-to-date.
