VRX, CRBP, and COP are among the stocks in the news today
Stocks are trading lower out of the gate, as traders digest an encouraging fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) update ahead of today's raft of Fed speakers. Among specific stocks in focus are drugmakers
Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) and
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRBP), as well as energy stock
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP). Here's a quick roundup of what's moving shares of VRX, CRBP, and COP.
Bill Ackman Calls Valeant Pharmaceuticals Stake a "Huge Mistake"
VRX stock is trading 0.1% lower at $11.17, following reports the field of suitors for Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc's subsidiary
iNova Pharmaceuticals has been narrowed to two: Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group. The stock has been floundering near its March 21 seven-year low of $10.35 in recent weeks, though, down 22% on the year. This is just more of the same for a stock that's shed 96% since topping out at a record high near $264 in August 2015. As such, former shareholder
Bill Ackman -- whose Pershing Square Capital Management lost $4 billion in its
VRX stake -- admitted to investors this week that, "Clearly, our investment in Valeant was a huge mistake." Short sellers, meanwhile, have been on the winning side of VRX stock. Short interest jumped 42.3% in the two most recent reporting periods, and now accounts for 15.4% of the equity's available float.
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Stock Retreats as Resunab Data Hits
Shares of CRBP have dropped 10% out of the gate to $8.10, landing the stock on the short-sale restricted list. The shares are reacting to mid-stage trial data for Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc's
cystic fibrosis treatment, Resunab, and are trading at levels not seen since mid-February -- even following Cantor Fitzgerald's reiterated "overweight" rating and $17 price target, in uncharted territory. Longer term, CRBP stock has swelled nearly fivefold over the past 12 months, and options traders have been betting on extended gains. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), CRBP's 10-day call/put volume ratio is docked at a top-heavy 2.18.
Oil Sands Asset Sale Sparks Fire Under ConocoPhillips Stock
COP stock is trading 6.2% higher at $48.79, after the energy company said it would sell its
oil sands in western Canada to Cenovus Energy Inc (USA) (NYSE:CVE) in a deal valued at $13.3 billion. Heading into today's trading, it had been a rough ride for COP since topping out at an annual high of $53.17 in mid-December. Nevertheless, today's price move has COP stock clearing recent resistance at its 20-day moving average. Despite the security's technical troubles, options traders have been bought to open calls over puts at a near-annual-high clip in recent weeks. COP's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 4.18 ranks 8 percentage points from a 52-week peak.
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