Today's stocks to watch include General Electric Company (GE), Media General Inc (MEG), and Immunomedics, Inc. (IMMU)
The Dow is off to a good start this morning, thanks to speculation over potential stimulus measures coming from China. Among the equities in focus are Dow component General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), multimedia company Media General Inc (NYSE:MEG), and biopharmaceutical concern Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU).
- GE is 2% higher at $24.48, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the European Union is about to approve the Dow component's $17 billion acquisition of Alstom SA's power business (subscription required). The acquisition will be the largest ever for General Electric Company. Technically, the stock has consolidated into its 40-month moving average, located in the $24 neighborhood, but remains more than 3% lower year-to-date. Option players have been upping the bearish ante. GE's 10-day put/call volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) checks in at 0.80 -- in the 88th percentile of its annual range.
- MEG is 5.1% higher at $11.73, after announcing a $2.4 billion deal to purchase Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP). The new company -- Meredith Media General -- will have 88 TV stations in 54 markets and media brands, including big names like Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, and Shape. On Friday, Media General Inc slipped within 10 cents of its recently set multi-year low of $10.88, but today is attempting to topple its 10-day moving average, which has acted as resistance since mid-July. Option players are extremely skeptical toward MEG, evidenced by the equity's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 12.07. In addition, short sellers have stocked up on pessimistic positions against MEG -- 23% of the equity's float is sold short. It would take 10 days to cover these bearish bets, at MEG's average pace of trading.
- IMMU is also higher this morning, advancing 14.4% to trade at $2.46. The move was sparked by news that Immunomedics, Inc.'s experimental drug, sacituzumab govitecan, continues to "produce durable responses" in patients with metastatic lung cancer. The results were called "compelling" by IMMU's president and CEO, Cynthia L. Sullivan. Prior to today, IMMU had been plumbing new depths since gapping lower on July 28. In fact, the equity set a multi-year low of $1.69 on Aug. 21. Short-term option players are more call-heavy than usual, though, as its Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.32 is lower than 89% of the readings taken during the past 52 weeks.
Get the skinny on all the biggest stories of the morning… Sign up now to get Schaeffer's Midday Market Check delivered straight to your inbox!