All three benchmarks are on track for their second-straight week of losses
Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine border crisis, as well as standard options expiration Friday, there is plenty of volatility on Wall Street today. All three benchmarks are firmly lower midday and headed toward their second-straight weekly losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down triple digits to follow up on its worst day of 2022, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are sharply lower at last check. Meanwhile, the U.S. leading economic index fell 0.3% in January.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Now could be a good time to buy the dip on ZBRA.
- Why Roku stock is plummeting today.
- Plus, options traders target tumbling tech stock; Wall Street newbie breaks out; and BLZE drops after earnings.
Redfin Corp (NASDAQ:RDFN) is seeing an options surge today, with options volume pacing for the top percentile of its annual range. So far, 6,498 calls and 10,000 puts have crossed the tape -- 12 times what's typically seen at this point. The February 20 put is seeing the most activity, followed by the February 26 call, with new positions being opened at both. RDFN is down 26.9% at $20.96 at last check, despite the company's stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report, due to its weak forecast. To follow, RBC downgraded the equity to "sector perform" from "outperform," while no fewer than seven other analysts slashed their price targets. Trading at its lowest level since May of 2020, the security has landed on the Short Sale Restricted (SSR) list today.
One stock surging on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is renewable storage name Energy Vault Holdings Inc (NYSE:NRGV), up 26.1% to trade at $14.00 at last glance, and earlier up at a record high of $18.57. NRGV, which started trading on the NYSE on Monday after its merger with SPAC Novus Capital Corp. II (NXU), is trending on StockTwits today as investors eye the stock following the merge.
Meanwhile, cloud storage stock Backblaze Inc (NASDAQ:BLZE), which began publicly trading in mid November, is down 32.5% at $9.36 at never-before-seen lows. The company announced wider-than-expected losses of 38 cents per share, though revenue beat estimates. To follow, Oppenheimer and Raymond James lowered their price targets to $23 and $22, respectively. Year-to-date, the equity is down 42.4%.