Buzz Stocks: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc

Today's stocks to watch in the news include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI), and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX)

Josh Selway

Jun 14, 2016 at 9:28 AM

U.S. stocks are pointing to a lower start this morning, as anxiety swirls ahead of the Fed's two-day policy-deciding meeting. Among the equities in focus today are Chinese e-tailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), as well as biotech stocks Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX).

BABA has added almost 2% in pre-market trading, after the company announced it expects transactions volume to nearly double by 2020 and for revenue to grow by 48% in fiscal year 2017. The stock has experienced whipsaw price action this year, with Monday's settlement at $75.45 leaving the shares 7.2% lower year-to-date. Regardless, analysts have remained upbeat, with 89% of the brokerage firms tracking Alibaba Group Holding Ltd calling it a "buy" or better, with no "sell" ratings on the books.

Yesterday, INFI fell to a seven-year low of $4.38, before closing at $4.41 -- 60% lower year-over-year. More losses are in store for the stock today, as the shares have plummeted over 67% in electronic trading -- on pace to open at an all-time low -- after the company announced a restructuring plan that would cut one-fifth of its workforce. The news follows disappointing mid-stage trial results for Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment. J.P. Morgan Securities downgraded the stock to "neutral" as a result, and more bearish notes could come, since six analysts still call INFI a "buy" or better.

VRX is edging higher this morning, ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. ET. As new CEO Joseph Papa prepares to assure investors the company is on the right track after a 90% collapse in the stock over the past 12 months, reports are surfacing that Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc is working to sell its dermatology businesses. At $23.78, VRX is sitting just above its five-year low of $22.52 from last week, but short-term options traders remain more call-skewed than normal. Specifically, the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.88 ranks just 4 percentage points from a 12-month low.

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