The Dow was trading over 200 points higher earlier in the day
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is cautiously higher at midday, but the blue-chip index gave back earlier gains after trading up over 200 points at its session highs. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is flat, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is comfortably in the black, despite mixed results from Big Tech. Elsewhere, investors are unpacking weekly jobless claims that rose for the third straight week, denoting a pause in the labor market's gradual improvement.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The music-streaming stock upgraded on podcast buzz.
- Options traders flock to sinking GameStop stock.
- Plus, call traders pile on BBBY; RH soars after quarterly beat; and ATNX sinks after share offering.
One stock seeing notable options activity is Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY), up 6.3% at $12.13 after Wedbush raised its price target to $18 from $15. So far, 21,000 puts have crossed the tape -- 10 times what's typically seen at this point and volume pacing for the 96th percentile of its annual range. Most popular is the October 13 put, where new positions are being opened.
At the top of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today is RH (NYSE:RH), up 26.7% at $406.71 at last check, after the furniture retailer reported an impressive second-quarter earnings and revenue beat. To follow, Telsey Advisory Group upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "market perform," and raised its price target alongside three other analysts -- including Guggenheim all the way to $500. Now soaring to a new record high, the equity is up 135% year-over-year.
Meanwhile, Athenex Inc (NASDAQ:ATNX) is dropping lower, last seen down 14.6% at $11.27, after announcing a discounted public share offering of 10 million shares at $11 per share. Down 26.3% year-to-date, the equity has once again slipped below the 60-day moving average, which had turned flipped into support at the start of the month's bull gap.
