The utility company said a dam breached at a North Carolina power station
It's another record-setting session on Wall Street, with the Dow and S&P 500 Index hitting new all-time peaks. Not all of the day's action is to the upside, though, with homebuilder Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH), utility name Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK), and cosmetics stock Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV) all trading in negative territory. Here's a quick look at what's moving shares of BZH, DUK, and REV today.
Downgrade Levels Beazer Homes Stock
J.P. Morgan Securities said it is "more cautious" on homebuilders, as it expects the "housing recovery to remain fairly tepid in 2019." Beazer Homes was one of the individual names the brokerage firm called out, with the stock being downgraded to "neutral" from "overweight," and seeing its price target cut to $13 from $18.
In reaction, BZH stock is down 8% at $11.09 -- fresh off a new annual low of $11.02, and on track for its biggest one-day loss since Feb. 8. The security is now down more than 42% year-to-date, and additional bearish brokerage notes could come down the pike. The average 12-month price target of $17 is a 53.3% premium to the equity's current price.
Day Traders Target Duke Energy Stock
Duke Energy said earlier a dam breach at one of its North Carolina power facilities could be sending coal ash flooding into the Cape Fear River -- exacerbating damage caused by Hurricane Florence. A price-target cut to $85 from $91 at Morgan Stanley is only stoking the bearish flames, with DUK stock last seen down 0.9% at $79.90.
DUK shares are now headed toward their first close below the round $80 mark since July 24, and day traders are hoping for even bigger losses through today's close. Amid accelerated options trading -- 23,193 options have traded so far, 12 times the intraday average and a new annual high -- buy-to-open activity has been detected at the September 80 put.
Revlon Stock Sell-Off Finds Technical Support
Revlon stock has plunged 16.5% to trade at $20.20, on news the company's chairman, Ronald Perelman, extended a standstill agreement limiting the amount of shares he can purchase. The contract was initially put in place last month after Perelman increased his stake in REV, sparking rumors he wanted to take the company private.
This burst of buying power last month sent the shares surging from an Aug. 9 five-year low of $14.05, to a six-month high of $25.50 on Sept. 19. And while the stock is headed toward its worst daily loss since May 5, 2017, the sell-off appears to be stalling out in the $19.80 region, home to a 50% retracement of that recent rally.
Short sellers are likely cheering today's drop, even as the stock sits on the short-sale restricted list. The 2.72 million REV shares currently sold short represent 34.6% of the equity's available float, or 17.1 times the average daily pace of trading.