ZUMZ was among Wedbush's retail victims
Trade fears continue to push stocks further into a steep sell-off, with all three major indexes trading in the red. Three stocks investors are paying close attention to this afternoon are cannabis producer Cronos Group Inc (NASDAQ:CRON), Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), and retailer Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ). Below, we will dive into what is moving the shares of CRON, OXY, and ZUMZ.
CRON Stock Sinks on Earnings, Pot Survey
Following a poorly received first-quarter earnings report, and a survey out of Dalhousie University that showed Canadians are "less enthusiastic about edibles since cannabis became legal last fall," pot stock CRON is down 7.4% at $14.32 this afternoon. Cronos stock is now testing its footing around the $14 mark, which acted as resistance in the fourth quarter.
Coming into today, analysts were already uneasy toward the pot name, with eight of the nine firms sporting "hold" or "sell" ratings. Meanwhile, several short sellers are likely cheering today. Short interest accounts for 14% of CRON's total available float.
Call Traders Bullish Toward Chevron Rival
Petroleum concern Occidental stock is reeling, after Chevron (CVX) pulled out of the bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum (APC). OXY is down 5.9% at $56.69 in response, earlier touching a nearly decade low of $56.12. Year-over-year, the security has shed 31.5%.
Several option buyers are likely kicking rocks. This is evident by the stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) coming in at 2.63, in the 94th percentile of its annual range. In other terms, OXY calls have been bought over puts at a faster-than-usual clip during the past 10 weeks.
ZUMZ Slammed at Wedbush
After being one of the many large retail stocks slammed by Webush this morning, ZUMZ is down 4.5% at $24.78. Specifically, the retailer was slapped with a downgrade to "underperform" from "neutral," and a price-target cut to $22 from $23. The shares are now set for their lowest close since late March.
Brokerages were evenly split coming into today, with three carrying a "strong buy" and three sporting a "hold." Further, the average 12-month price target of $24.83 is in line with current levels. Meanwhile, short interest on Zumiez stock grew 9.2% during the past two reporting periods, and now represents 15.5% of the stock's total available float.