Stocks Cautiously Higher with Trade, Retail Earnings in Focus

China cut its economic growth target for 2019

Emma Duncan

Managing Editor

Mar 5, 2019 at 12:07 PM

TGT
SPX
IXIC
DJI

Stocks are cautiously higher in afternoon trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) a hair above breakeven, at last check. Traders continue to await news regarding a U.S.-China trade deal, and this morning digested a cut economic growth target from Beijing. Elsewhere, Wall Street is applauding several retail earnings reports, with Target (TGT) reporting its best traffic growth in years.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

The FAANG stock higher on spin-off potential.
Analyst: The best weed stock to own now.
Plus, a cloud stock landing bull notes despite disappointing outlook; and the best and worst stocks of the NYSE and Nasdaq.

Midday Market Stats March 5

Sporting unusual call volume today is Salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), with 55,000 calls and 39,000 puts across the tape so far -- four times the average intraday pace. Most active is the weekly 3/8 160-strike call, which is set to expire at Friday's close. CRM is down 1.5% at $156.08, after the company forecast first-quarter profit and revenue below estimates. Regardless, CRM has had no fewer than eight price-target hikes, with Raymond James raising its target to $200 from $165 -- a more than 26% increase from last night's close.

At the bottom of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV), last seen down 18.6% at $20.7, on track for its lowest close since October 2018. While the catalyst remains unclear, REV shares are set to close back below their 200-day and 320-day moving averages.

Near the top of the Nasdaq today is Ctrip.com International Ltd (NASDAQ:CTRP), after the company reported an impressive fourth-quarter revenue beat. No fewer than three analysts have hiked their price targets in response, including J.P. Morgan Securities, which raised its target to $45 from $33, while also upgrading CTRP to "overweight" from "neutral." CTRP is up 17.3% at $41.03, at last check, pacing toward its highest close since August. Year-to-date, the travel stock has added 51%.

Daily CTRIP Since March 2018

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