The Dow is down 124 points at midday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down roughly 124 points at midday, erasing this morning's gains despite nearing a fresh intraday high earlier in the session. Similarly, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) has turned red, with weakness in the materials and financial sectors pushing it away from record levels, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) remains flat. Traders are still monitoring the "meme stock" craze, and digesting news that the G-7 nations have agreed to ask massive companies to pay a minimum 15% tax on their earnings.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Reddit's latest target is a heavily shorted medical name.
- Visa stock popped thanks to fresh Piper Sandler praise.
- Plus, bulls eye BNGO after C-suite shakeup; Exfo to be taken private; and chipmaker dips on direct offering.
One stock seeing an unusual amount of options activity today is BioNano Genomics Inc (NASDAQ:BNGO), last seen up 17.4% at $8.07. Today's upbeat price action comes after the company named Jason Priar, who has sales experience in genetic diseases as well as cancer testing, as chief marketing officer. So far, 97,000 calls and 9,970 puts have changed hands -- eight times the intraday average. Most popular is the monthly June 9 call, followed by the 10 call in the same series, with new positions being opened at both. On the charts, the equity had been cooling off from a Feb. 16 all-time high of $15.69, though it is now trading at its highest level since March, toppling overhead pressure at the 70-day moving average. Year-over-year, BNGO is up an astounding 1,439%.
Near the top of the Nasdaq today is Exfo Inc (NASDAQ:EXFO). The security is up 60.8% at $5.95 at last check, after hitting a four-year high of $6.15 earlier. The major bull gap followed news that founder and majority shareholder Germain Lamonde bought the remaining shares and is taking the company private The equity hit a five-year high earlier today, after trading mostly sideways since April. In the last nine months, EXFO has added 64.8%.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Nasdaq today is MoSys Inc. (NASDAQ: MOSY). The security is down 20.2% at $7.27 at last check, after the chip manufacturer announced a $13 million registered direct offering of roughly 1.8 million shares of its common stock. In the previous session, shares surged to a three-year high of $10.75. Despite today's bear gap, the security still has the support of its 10-day moving average, which helped guide the shares to last week's high. Plus, the stock is up 407% in the last nine months.
