The Dow is down roughly 140 points at midday
Stocks are extending this morning's losses, after disappointing U.S. retail sales data undermined news of President-elect Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue plan. Specifically, retail sales dropped an unexpected 0.7% in December, despite economists projecting numbers would stay flat. At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down roughly 140 points, guided lower by the likes of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS). Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also in the red. As it stands, all three indexes are headed for weekly losses.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- B. Riley eyes more upside for this red-hot retail stock.
- DropBox stock's rebound attempt sparks fresh analyst coverage.
- Plus, SRNE's rally picked up by option bulls; CRNT nabs post-conference bull note; and volatile DOGZ takes another dip.
Sorrento Therpautics Inc (NASDAQ:SRNE) is seeing an unusual amount of options activity today. The stock was last seen up 10.7% at $8.85 in another attempt to break through recent pressure at its $9 mark, which has kept a lid on shares for the past couple months. Today's rally has option bulls taking notice, and so far 51,000 calls have crossed the tape -- triple the intraday amount. Most popular is the January 2021 8-strike call, followed by the 8.5-strike call in the same monthly series. The equity is still a ways away from its Aug. 10, six-year high of $19.39, though it has managed to tack on roughly 100% in the past 12 months, with solid support at its 200-day moving average capturing several pullback since November.
Wireless backhaul provider Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT) is the best performer on the Nasdaq today, up 54.3% at $4.86, after earlier hitting a nine-year high of $6.30. The bull gap came after an upbeat Needham Growth Conference and outlook drove the firm to hike its price target to $3.75 from $3.25. On the charts, CNRT was trading sideways for most of the past year, though three of its latest pullbacks bounced off the 160-day moving average. In the last nine months, CRNT has added 143%.
Meanwhile, China-based pet retailer Dogness Corp (NASDAQ:DOGZ) is near the bottom of the Nasdaq, down 22.6% to trade at $2.09, at last check. This negative price action comes amid news that the company entered into a securities purchase agreement for a direct placement of $7.4 million shares of common stock, priced at $2.15 per share. The equity has been especially volatile of late, surging to a three-month high of $3.30 the session prior. The security's 70-day moving average looks ready to capture this latest pullback, however, keeping the stock at a 12-month lead of 59%.