The Dow is up over 580 points midday
Once more brushing off election uncertainty, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up over 580 points midday and heading toward its fourth-straight session of triple-digit gains. The blue-chip index has now completely erased last week's 1,834-point deficit in what is shaping up to be an impressive week on the charts all around. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is on track for its third-straight triple-digit win, as Big Tech celebrates the potential for a split Congress. Elsewhere, investors are unpacking jobless claims data and monitoring the still-undetermined presidential election, as well as the Cboe Volatility Index's (VIX) fourth-straight day in the red.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Cannabis stock climbs on beverage acquisition buzz.
- Apparel name falls on revenue forecast.
- Plus, options traders eye red-hot Apple supplier; Upwork stock gaps to a record high; and a tech stock blasted by bear notes.
One stock seeing notable options activity today is Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM), up 13% at $145.75 -- and earlier hitting a new record high of $148.80 -- after no fewer than 14 analysts raised their price targets on the stock following its first-quarter forecast. So far today, 123,000 calls and 38,000 puts have crossed the tape -- eight times what's typically seen at this point. The weekly 11/06 150-strike call, where new positions are being opened, is the most popular by far, meaning plenty of options traders are betting on more upside for QCOM by the contract's expiration tomorrow. Year-over-year, the stock is up 67%.
Meanwhile, Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) is gapping to a new record high as well, up 41.4% at $28.59 at last check, after the side-gig company reported a third-quarter earnings beat. This earned an upgrade from Stifel to "buy," from "hold," and a slew of price-target hikes from other analysts. Now up an impressive 169.5% year-to-date and guided by its ascending 40-day moving average, the employment services stock is on track for its best day ever.
Elsewhere, dropping 15.7% to trade at $23.55 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is tech company Ping Identity Holding Corporation (NYSE:PING). Today's fall comes after the company announced weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter guidance, despite better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue. To follow, Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight," and cut its price target to $25 from $35, alongside no fewer than four other analyst price-target cuts. Plummeting to its lowest levels since mid-May, the stock has now ceded its year-to-date breakeven level.