U.S. stocks are set to follow crude futures higher this morning. Among equities in focus today are drugmaker ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD), as well as tech stocks Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Qlik Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:QLIK). 

• ACAD's Parkinson's disease psychosis (PDP) drug, Nuplazid, was found to be effective, according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff members. J.P. Morgan Securities now believes approval is "likely" on the eve of tomorrow's crucial FDA meeting, given the "noted unmet need and the lack of any formally approved products for PDP." As such, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares are pointed nearly 15% higher in pre-market trading, after settling at $20.31 last Thursday. This represents a change of pace for the drug stock, which has surrendered 43% of its value year-to-date. On the sentiment front, option traders could get burnt by a gap higher. ACAD's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.43 across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks just 5 percentage points from an annual peak.

• MSFT is reportedly in talks with private equity firms about teaming up on a buyout bid for Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), which has been looking to unload assets. On the charts, Microsoft Corporation has been rallying since bouncing off its 200-day moving average in early February, up roughly 10% to trade at $54.21 -- a stone's throw from its late-December 16-year high of $56.85. Short-term option traders apparently have high hopes. MSFT's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) stands at 0.50, with calls doubling puts among options expiring in the next three months. Plus, the SOIR sits below 88% of all other readings from the past year, confirming the call bias. Likewise, the brokerage crowd remains decidedly bullish toward Microsoft.

• QLIK is poised to jump 8.2% out of the gate, following reports the company has begun exploring strategic alternatives -- including a possible sale. Adding fuel to the fire, Baird, SunTrust Robinson, and RBC each raised their price targets on the stock. Meanwhile, at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, traders have been placing bearish bets over bullish at a rapid-fire rate, based on Qlik Technologies Inc's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 4.86 -- outstripping 92% of comparable readings from the last 12 months. QLIK settled at $26.69 last Thursday, up 69% from its five-year low of $15.77 on Feb. 12.

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Analysts are weighing in on tech stock QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), as well as offshore drilling concerns Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW) and Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on QCOM, ATW, and RIG.

• Barclays downgraded QCOM to "equal weight" from "overweight," and cut its price target to $50 from $55. QUALCOMM, Inc. has been consolidating above the half-century level for more than a month, since bouncing back from a five-year low in February, but remains confined beneath its descending 160-day average -- a level the stock hasn't topped on a closing basis since November 2014. Sentiment in the option pits has hit a bearish extreme -- at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), QCOM's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.71 is at an annual high. The shares are down 0.9% today at $50.38.


• ATW also took a hit from Barclays, including a downgrade to "underweight" from "equal weight" and a price-target cut to $6 from $7. The stock is 2.9% lower at $8.19 as a result, bringing its year-to-date loss to 19.9%. Today's bearish brokerage attention is just more of the same for Atwood Oceanics, Inc., which currently has 12 "hold" or "sell" ratings, compared to just two "strong buys." And traders have been betting against the equity, too. Short interest on ATW accounts for more than 37% of its available float -- over a week's worth of trading, at the stock's typical daily volume.


• Another victim of Barclays this morning is RIG, off 0.4% at $9.34 following a price-target cut to $5 from $6 -- a 46% discount to Transocean LTD's current value, and in all-time-low territory. Just one of the 18 analysts providing coverage gives RIG a rating better than a "hold" -- unsurprising, as the stock hit a record low of $7.67 just over a month ago. The shares also breached a key support level last week. Elsewhere, call traders may be on edge as RIG retreats on the latest batch of bearish attention. Meanwhile, short interest still accounts for nearly nine sessions' worth of trading, at the stock's average pace.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) is diving on the latest accusations of predatory pricing. This time around, investors in Sprout have accused the drugmaker of failing to successfully commercialize the female libido pill by charging two times what market research determined would be an appropriate price. As such, VRX is down 7.8%, which should come as a welcome development for at least one group of options bears.

One of the most active VRX strikes during the past two weeks has been the May 27.50 put, where roughly 27,500 contracts have been added to open interest. Based on data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the majority of these positions have been bought to open, suggesting the traders expect even more downside by back-month expiration, at the close on Friday, May 20. However, even if VRX remains above the strike throughout the option's lifetime, these buyers risk forfeiting no more than the initial premium paid.

While a number of short-term traders have been targeting calls, VRX's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.14 reveals a prevailing bias toward puts, on an absolute basis. For comparison's sake, two weeks ago, the SOIR was 1.01, with put and call open interest roughly even among options with a shelf-life of three months or less.

The interest in puts makes sense in light of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc's (NYSE:VRX) long-term technical struggles. The stock settled 2015 in triple-digit territory, but is now hovering around $28.66. Last week, in fact, VRX hit a five-year low of $25.99.

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Analysts are weighing in on video game retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME), investment firm State Street Corp (NYSE:STT), and drugmaker Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on GME, STT, and PTLA.

• After falling to as low as $28.40 out of the gate, GME has bounced back to gain 0.2% at $30.32 -- though the stock is stalling out at its 20-day moving average. Late Thursday, GME said fourth-quarter profit beat expectations, yet current-quarter and full-year guidance disappointed. Wedbush has since lowered its price target to $36 from $38, while Benchmark trimmed its target to $26.33 from $27.36. Most of Wall Street is skeptical of GameStop Corp. Eight of the 13 brokerages that cover GME call it a "hold" or "strong sell," while over 38% of the stock's float is sold short. 

• STT is down 0.5% at $58.48, following a downgrade to "underperform" from "market perform" at KBW. The stock is now 11.9% lower in 2016, and option traders have taken a bearish stance amid in recent weeks. For example, during the past 10 days at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), State Street Corp has accumulated a call/put volume ratio of 5.58, which tops 70% of similar readings from the past year. 

• As expected, negative analyst attention is putting pressure on PTLA. The stock is down 6.6% at $18.94, after Goldman Sachs cut its opinion to "neutral" from "buy," slashed its price target to $30 from $65, and removed the stock from its "America's Buy" list. The shares have dropped over 63% year-to-date, earlier touching a two-year low of $18.20. However, Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc's recent sell-off has left it in oversold territory, with the stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) coming in at 26, meaning a short-term bounce is theoretically a possibility. 

For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: Finish Line Inc, Medivation Inc, and McDonald's Corporation and Analyst Downgrades: QUALCOMM, Inc., Atwood Oceanics, Inc., and Transocean LTD.

Asian stocks ended the day mixed ahead of today's speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, which they'll be scouring for rate-hike clues. Falling oil prices also put pressure on energy stocks. In terms of specific indexes, China's Shanghai Composite plunged 1.3% on a stronger yuan. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.2%, as an uptick in unemployment and disappointing retail sales offset a surprise increase in consumer spending. Also, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised to speed the implementation of a recently approved budget to help the economy. Rounding things out, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

European markets are also trading mixed after the long Easter weekend, with mining stocks struggling after a bearish note from Barclays. However, travel stocks have largely shrugged off the hijacking of an EgyptAir flight, which ended in the alleged hijacker's arrest. At last check, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.1% and the German DAX has edged 0.01% lower, while France's CAC 40 has picked up 0.4%.

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Analysts are weighing in on drugmaker Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALDR), semiconductor stock Ambarella Inc (NASDAQ:AMBA), and hospitality interest Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE:HOT). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on ALDR, AMBA, and HOT.

• ALDR is up 1.1% in electronic trading after Credit Suisse raised its price target on the stock to $40 from $35. This comes after the shares' nearly 50% gain yesterday on encouraging drug data to settle at $25.70. Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc is already rated a "strong buy" by both analysts providing coverage -- despite a 22.2% year-to-date loss -- but others are more skeptical of the stock. For example, almost 14% of ALDR's float is sold short, and it would take these bears almost seven sessions to cover their positions, at average daily volumes. 

• Morgan Stanley upgraded AMBA to "overweight" from "equal weight," stating, "Recent headwinds have bottomed and are likely to become tailwinds." Ambarella Inc is set to pop 5.8% at the open after closing at $40.71 Monday, though it's still off 27% in 2016 amid overhead pressure from its 60-day moving average. But while short interest is still running high, option traders appear to be eyeing a bounce. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.41 sits above 94% of all readings from the past year.

• HOT received a price-target hike to $95 from $93 at Susquehanna last night, after analysts reported that Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) is expected to walk away from the buyout battle after China's Anbang Insurance made a higher offer. What's more, Marriott could stand to collect a more than $400 million "breakup fee" if it doesn't agree to terms with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. In the meantime, option traders have been picking up calls at a faster-than-usual clip. HOT's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio comes in at 13.52 -- in the 77th percentile of its annual range. The shares settled at $83.75 on Monday.

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Stocks could struggle out of the gate, with Dow futures pointed lower ahead of today's speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Among the equities in focus today are iPhone maker Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), renewable energy firm TerraForm Global Inc (NASDAQ:GLBL), and diagnostics stock TrovaGene Inc (NASDAQ:TROV). 

• The Justice Department has dropped its lawsuit against AAPL, after investigators were finally able to access the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. On the charts, Apple Inc. has been consolidating above $100 for the past several weeks, and settled yesterday at $105.19. Meanwhile, short-term options traders have been targeting the stock's calls over puts. Specifically, AAPL's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) stands at 0.64 -- which ranks lower than all but 8% of comparable readings taken in the last year.

• GLBL is poised to plunge 20% at the open -- and into record-low territory -- after the firm said it will delay filing its annual report. TerraForm Global Inc also warned that parent company Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE) is at "substantial risk" of bankruptcy, which could "have a material adverse effect on TerraForm Global." It's already been a bad enough year for GLBL, which has surrendered over 55% of its value in 2016 to close Monday at $2.50. But bears have been betting on even more losses for the stock, with short interest rising 5.6% in the latest reporting period to account for 6.2% of GLBL's float.

• TROV has fired two of its top executives and is now suing them for allegedly failing to "present a lucrative corporate opportunity to Trovagene ... and instead [taking] that opportunity for their own personal benefit." As a result, the stock is poised to plunge nearly 23% at the open. Longer term, TrovaGene Inc has been less than impressive, losing over 26% from its March 8 year-to-date high of $6.93 to settle last night at $5.11. Short sellers are counting on additional downside. During the last two reporting periods, short interest on TROV spiked roughly 24%, and nearly 21% of the stock's float is currently sold short.

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Analysts are weighing in on e-commerce stock eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY), biotech issue Puma Biotechnology Inc (NYSE:PBYI), and chipmaker Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on EBAY, PBYI, and MU.

• Barclays cut its rating on EBAY to "underweight" from "equal weight," and its price target to $25 from $28, noting that the stock's fundamentals look weak. As a result, eBay Inc is down 1.7% at $23.70 this morning, contributing to a 13.8% year-to-date deficit. The shares lost support from their 80-week moving average in late January, after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings, and have been trading sideways around the $24 level for more than a month. Analysts appear wary of EBAY at the moment, with 18 out of 25 rating the equity a "hold" or "sell."


• PBYI is down 20% at $28.31 -- fresh off a new three-year low of $27.12 -- after RBC downgraded the stock's rating to "sector perform" from "outperform," and slashed its price target to $36 from $103. J.P. Morgan Securities offered a less harsh price-target cut, to $89 from $105, and maintained its "overweight" rating. Prompting the negative attention, Puma Biotechnology Inc said it would delay filing an application for its new breast cancer drug, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked for changes in how study data was analyzed. Bearish option traders may not mind today's plunge. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have bought to open 5.56 PBYI puts for each call over the last 10 sessions -- a ratio higher than 93% of the past year's readings.


• Needham cut its rating on MU to "underperform" from "hold" ahead of tomorrow night's fiscal second-quarter earnings report. Micron Technology, Inc. has given up more than 28% of its value in 2016 at $10.15 -- including today's 2.2% drop -- and hasn't been able to recover much ground since hitting a two-year low of $9.31 in late January. And while 62% of analysts rate the security a "buy" or better, bearish sentiment in the options pits is at a peak. MU's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX is in the top percentile of its annual range, at 1.36 -- and at least one trader is betting on a big drop over the next few months.

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Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE) is making headlines this morning -- and for all the wrong reasons. For one, according to The Wall Street Journal, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is probing the solar firm for potential fraud. For another, SUNE is allegedly at "substantial risk" of bankruptcy, per one of its subsidiaries. As a result, the stock is down 42.5% at $0.72, short-sale restricted, and fresh off a record low of $0.69 -- which should be a boon to recent buyers of SUNE put options.

Specifically, traders yesterday bought to open SUNE's weekly 4/1 0.50-strike puts, at a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.04. Today, the option's VWAP has jumped to $0.08, and based on several mid-sized blocks that have already changed hands, it appears some of yesterday's buyers are already selling to close their positions to lock in paper profits ahead of Friday night's expiration. At the same time, data at the International Securities Exchange (ISE) indicates additional buy-to-open activity at the out-of-the-money strike, suggesting some speculators are counting on even more downside through week's end.

SUNE is no stranger to bearish bets. During the past 10 days at the ISE, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have bought to open 1.30 puts for every call -- a ratio that sits just 3 percentage points from an annual high.

Underscoring this bias toward skepticism, SUNE's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) stands at a 12-month peak of 1.21. In other words, looking back one year, puts have never outstripped calls by a greater margin among options with a shelf-life of three months or less.

It's more of the same outside of Sunedison Inc's (NYSE:SUNE) options pits. Short interest on the stock jumped 21.2% during the last two reporting periods, and two-thirds of covering analysts consider the shares a "hold" or "strong sell."

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Drug stocks are making waves today, and Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) is no exception. The shares are up 1.7% at $6.12, after the firm announced a workforce reduction as part of its ongoing strategic review. While shareholders may welcome the bullish price action, a number of options traders and short sellers may be kicking rocks.

At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), ARIA has racked up a put/call volume ratio of 0.84 over the past 10 days. Though the ratio is call-skewed on an absolute basis, it ranks in the high 89th annual percentile -- meaning traders have been buying to open puts over calls at a faster-than-usual pace.

Short sellers have been piling on ARIA, as well. Currently, 38.5 million shares are sold short -- the highest level since early October. At the stock's average trading levels, it would take 7.5 sessions for short sellers to cover these bets.

Technically speaking, Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) has spent most of March trading sideways between $6 and $6.75. While today's pop has the stock back above its previously supportive 120-day moving average, its 200-day trendline looms as potential resistance after stymieing last week's breakout attempt.

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Analysts are weighing in on restaurant stock Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), professional networking site LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), and e-commerce concern Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on CMG, LNKD, and AMZN.

• CMG is down 4% at $456.40, after Wedbush downgraded the stock to "underperform" from "neutral," and reduced its price target to $400 from $450 -- just above the stock's two-year low of $399.14 from Jan. 12. The firm added, "We believe a sales recovery by 2018 is the best-case scenario, not the basecase scenario." Analysts have been trimming their outlook on the stock recently, and, over the past 20 sessions, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has trailed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by 11.5 percentage points. As such, more puts have been bought to open over calls at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) over the past two weeks, according to CMG's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.08. 

• Barclays reduced its opinion on LNKD to "equal weight" from "overweight," while cutting its price target to $130 from $205, citing a slow and volatile outlook for the shares. The stock is up 0.8% at $109.95, paring its year-to-date loss to 51.2%. LinkedIn Corp could potentially face additional headwinds if more analysts throw in the towel. That's because over half of the brokerages covering the shares say they're at least a "buy," and none recommend selling them. 

• AMZN is up 2.3% at $592.98 following a price-target hike to $775 from $750 at Stifel. This mirrors the general opinion on Wall Street, as 84% of analysts rate the stock at least a "buy." Speculators have also been bullish, with Amazon.com, Inc.'s 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 1.18 outstripping nearly two-thirds of all other readings from the past year. The shares are now almost 8% higher in March, and but are running out of steam near their 80-day moving average -- a trendline not toppled on a daily closing basis since Jan. 28. 

For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc, Ambarella Inc, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc and Analyst Downgrades: eBay Inc, Puma Biotechnology Inc, and Micron Technology, Inc.

The highlight of today for many traders was a speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen, in which she advised caution in adjusting monetary policy -- meaning that interest rate hikes should remain on a gradual schedule. These dovish remarks sent the value of the dollar falling, and gave gold futures a healthy boost. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), for example, is up 1.5% at $118.67, and if it can keep the rally going for the next two sessions, the ETF could close above its 36-month moving average for the first time in three years -- an indicator that may signal a longer-term trend reversal. And as gold heads higher, Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) is riding sector tailwinds and enjoying a few bullish brokerage notes.

Ahead of the open today, CIBC and Canaccord Genuity raised their price targets on ABX to $13.25 and C$21.50, respectively. TD Securities, meanwhile, adjusted its target down by 50 cents, to $17.50. The stock is up 3.9% at $14.14, bringing its year-to-date lead to 91.5%.

From a technical standpoint, ABX has been on a tear this year. The shares hit an annual high of $15.52 less than two weeks ago, and have outperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by a hefty 87 percentage points over the last three months. ABX has also enjoyed support on its journey higher in the form of its 40-day moving average, which has contained its pullbacks since mid-December.

But sentiment in and out of the option pits is still quite bearishly skewed. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), ABX's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 0.81 is in the top percentile of its annual range. Likewise, the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.27 is higher than 95% of the past year's reading -- indicating near-term traders have rarely been so put-heavy.

Today, however, ABX call volume is outnumbering put volume by nearly 3-to-1, with about 12,000 call options changing hands so far. And it looks like there may be some buy-to-open activity at the weekly 4/8 14.50-strike call, as well as the weekly 4/1 14-strike call -- the two most active options today.

Analysts have not yet taken a shine to the stock, either, with 10 out of 14 maintaining "hold" or "strong sell" ratings. Further bullish notes from these remaining skeptics, as well as an unwinding of bearish sentiment among option traders, could be enough to spur Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) on to new highs.

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