Buzz Stocks: Alcoa Inc, Ascena Retail Group Inc, and UTi Worldwide Inc.

1. AA is in the news this morning, after kicking off earnings season with a whimper (subscription required). The stock is 5% lower at $10.46, after the firm's much-anticipated earnings fell short of Wall Street's estimates. Alcoa Inc blamed the performance on falling aluminum prices and a dismal forex backdrop. Technically, AA has surrendered more than one-third of its value in 2015, but is attempting to notch a weekly win atop its 20-week trendline for the first time since February. Ahead of earnings, option traders were stocking up on puts at a faster-than-usual clip. AA'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 1.27, higher than 91% of the readings taken in the past 52 weeks.

• ASNA initially jumped 3.9%, thanks to news that Golden Gate Capital took a 9% stake in the retailer, calling it "undervalued." However, ASNA has given up those gains, and was last seen 4% lower at $13.64. Technically, shares of Ascena Retail Group Inc have made significant headway since trading south of $11 in late August, but are backing down from the $14.50-$15 neighborhood -- home to ASNA's mid-July bear gap. Short sellers have been circling the stock, as short interest rose 21.4% during the last reporting period. These bearish bets now account for 13.6% of the stock's total available float, representing nearly a week's worth of pent-up buying demand, at ASNA's average pace of trading.

• UTIW has rocketed 47.9% higher to $6.98, thanks to news that Denmark's DSV has offered $1.35 billion to purchase the company (subscription required). Shares of UTi Worldwide Inc. touched a decade-plus low of $4.40 last week, and up until today, had underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by nearly 44 percentage points during the past three months. Option players are bearishly aligned toward the firm, as its 10-day put/call volume ratio on the ISE/CBOE/PHLX checks in at a hefty 6.40. Short sellers have also jumped in on UTIW, as 18% of the firm's float is sold short.

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