One is soaring on buyout buzz, and the other on a nod from the FDA
Stocks are trading mixed this afternoon, with the Dow giving up this morning's gains -- pacing for its seventh straight loss. Three individual stocks making noteworthy moves are drugmaker Anika Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ANIK), implantable eye lens maker STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA), and online payment platform PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL). Below, we will take a closer look at how shares of ANIK, STAA, and PYPL are trading on the charts.
Heavily Shorted ANIK Sinks After Drug Data
Shares of Anika Therapeutics are down 36.5% at $29.28 -- just off a four-year low of $28.96 -- after the company reported disappointing results in a study of its knee osteoarthritis treatment, Cingal. The stock also received a downgrade to "market perform" from "outperform" at Barrington Research, which said the drug's "commercial future in the U.S. is in serious doubt."
ANIK has now shed over 58% since its early February record high near $70, and short sellers are firmly in control. Short interest on the drug stock soared 79% during the past two reporting periods, and now accounts for 15% of the equity's total available float. These bearish bettors are sidelined for the time being, though, with the stock currently short-sale restricted.
STAAR Surgical Extends Bounce Off Key Trendline
STAAR Surgical stock is up 11.6% at $32.80, fresh off an all-time high of $33.00, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) closed out a warning letter issued to the company in 2014 over manufacturing facility deficiencies. The medical equipment supplier has been soaring on the charts, more than doubling in value since bouncing from its 200-day moving average in mid-April.
Against this backdrop, Canaccord Genuity boosted its price target on STAA by $9 to $32 -- saying the company is "primed to take off in the U.S." -- and more price-target hikes could come down the pike. While all four covering analysts maintain a "strong buy" rating on the equity, it's average 12-month price target of $27.75 is a discount to the security's current perch.
PayPal Soars on $400 Million Buyout, Bull Note
PayPal stock is up 2.3% at $86.51, just off a record high of $86.97, after last night's news of the company's $400 million all-cash purchase of sector peer Hyperwallet. Plus, Evercore ISI raised its PYPL price target to $107 from $88 -- the highest on Wall Street.
Today's price action is only extending PYPL's long-term trend higher, with the shares up almost 64% year-over-year. More recently, the stock has added almost 23% since ricocheting off its 200-day moving average in early May.
Amid this uptrend, the stock has consistently rewarded premium buyers. PYPL's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) is docked at of 86 out of a possible 100. This indicates that the stock has made bigger moves on the charts in the past year, relative to what the options market had priced in.