U.S. stocks are signaling a flat start, as traders react to the latest blue-chip earnings reports. Among equities in focus today are tech giant Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), TV programming peddler DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH), and printing specialist Lexmark International Inc (NYSE:LXK).

• European Union (EU) antitrust regulators officially charged GOOGL with abusing its "dominant" position in the mobile market via its Android operating system. "Based on our investigation thus far, we believe that Google's behavior denies consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way of innovation by other players," said Margrethe Vestager, antitrust commissioner for the EU. Of course, this bad press didn't stop Moffett Nathanson from bumping its price target on Alphabet Inc stock up to $900, representing all-time-high territory. This enthusiasm is common among the brokerage crowd, as 31 of 33 analysts rate the shares a "buy" or better, with not a single "sell" opinion to be found. Last night, GOOGL settled at $776.25, just below its year-to-date breakeven mark. Coming up tomorrow night, the tech firm will report first-quarter earnings.

• In the throes of a carriage-deal dispute with Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB), DISH delivered better-than-expected quarterly earnings per share, but revenue fell just shy of the consensus estimate, due to a steeper-than-forecast drop-off in pay-TV subscribers. Ahead of the bell, DISH Network Corp is pointed 4% higher. Longer term, 2016 has been a bloodbath for the stock, which is down more than 17% to trade at $47.32. Not surprisingly, short-term options traders are far more put-focused than usual at the moment. DISH's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.19 ranks just 2 percentage points from a 12-month high.

• LXK is signaling a more than 10% jump at the open, after the firm agreed to be bought by a consortium of Chinese investors, led by Apex Technology, for $3.6 billion, or $40.50 per share. Last night, the stock settled at $34.66, but its expected gap higher will put it in territory not charted since July. Call buying has been all the rage lately at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Lexmark International Inc's 10-day call/put volume ratio across those exchanges is 109.93, which ranks in the 93rd percentile of its annual range.

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Earnings season is kicking into high gear, and Angie's List Inc (NASDAQ:ANGI) is down 7.4% out of the gate at $7.18, after the consumer service review website swung to a first-quarter loss on revenue of $83.9 million, both numbers below the consensus estimates. Tuesday's options traders were bracing for a post-earnings drop from ANGI, with put volume running at 28 times the normal daily rate -- and one batch of speculators set to win big on today's plunge.

Specifically, ANGI's May 7.50 put saw the most action on Tuesday -- albeit, amid relatively low absolute volume -- and it looks as if a portion of the puts were bought to open for a volume-weighted average price of $0.56 apiece. This morning, the ask price for the now in-the-money puts has jumped to $0.90, meaning these traders are already staring at paper profits.

More broadly speaking, Tuesday's put-skewed session just echoes the recent trend seen in ANGI's options pits. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), options traders have bought to open 4.36 puts for every call over the past 10 sessions.

This skepticism is seen outside of the options arena, as well. Although short interest edged 2.4% lower in the most recent reporting period, it still accounts for a healthy 7.1% of the stock's available float. Even more telling, it would take roughly 11 sessions to cover these shorted shares, at ANGI's average daily pace of trading.

Ahead of today's trading, the stock had already surrendered nearly one-third of its value since topping out at an annual high of $11.25 in late November -- sending buyout buzz swirling. What's more, this morning's setback has the shares of Angie's List Inc (NASDAQ:ANGI) lingering near levels not seen since last November.

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Analysts are weighing in on tech stock Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), medical equipment designer Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), and virtualization firm VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on YHOO, ISRG, and VMW.

• YHOO is up 2.8% this morning at $37.36, after the company's better-than-expected first-quarter earnings were met with positive reviews from Wall Street. Specifically, no fewer than 12 brokerage firms raised their price targets on Yahoo! Inc., with Oppenheimer setting the bar the highest at $49. Meanwhile, CEO Marissa Mayer said she understands that executing a proper sale of the firm is the "top priority" for shareholders. YHOO is now 12% higher in 2016, and options traders share analysts' high expectations. Specifically, more than two YHOO calls have been bought to open for every put during the past two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). 
  
  
• ISRG's first-quarter earnings topped Wall Street's expectations, while the company also raised its full-year forecast for procedures utilizing its da Vinci robot. The stock has now added 4.3% at $650.23, bringing its 2016 lead to 19%, after tapping a record new high of $654.88. And analysts foresee additional gains in the future. Stifel and Canaccord Genuity were two of at least five brokerage firms to up their price targets, with each setting theirs at $700 -- representing another all-time high. The stock could continue to rally if shorts keep covering, too. Short interest has dropped during the past two reporting periods, but it would still take Intuitive Surgical, Inc. short sellers almost a week to cover their remaining positions, at the equity's average daily volumes. 
  
  
• Lastly, VMW has shot 13.8% higher to $58.55, thanks to strong quarterly revenue and a fresh $1.2 billion share buyback plan. This is a change of pace on the charts for the stock, which was trading above $93 as recently as August. Analysts are certainly impressed, with no fewer than five raising their price targets, including a $70 target from FBN. If VMware, Inc. can sustain today's rally, it could see additional bullish notes in the near term. Specifically, 64% of covering brokerage firms deem VMW just a "hold." 

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As the broader stock market searches for direction, drugmakers Cara Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CARA) and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) are on the rise. Let's take a look at the news sending biotech stocks CARA and BMRN higher. 

After being up as much as 9.5% earlier, CARA was last seen 0.5% higher at $8.26, on news the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifted its clinical hold on a critical drug trial. More specifically, the trial concerns the company's main compound, CR845, which is intended to be used for acute pain. On the charts, CARA has been on fire, roughly doubling in value since its all-time lows in late February. As such, the stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) was perched at 69 as of last night's close, meaning CARA is on the brink of overbought territory. 

Analysts' expectations toward the biotech are extremely high, as all four brokerage firms that cover the stock say it's a "strong buy." Plus, Cara Therapeutics Inc's (NASDAQ:CARA) average 12-month price target stands at $24 -- all-time-high territory. The stock has its fair share of skeptics, though: Short interest jumped almost 18% in the last reporting period.  

Meanwhile, BMRN has added 4.2% at $89.97, after the company released positive results for its hemophilia treatment. However, the shares are still 14% lower in 2016, and today's rally seems to be stalling near the $90 level that's been containing the stock since early March. 

Still, analysts are bullish on BMRN. Fourteen brokerage firms recommend buying the stock, two deem it a "hold," while none call it a "sell."

This positive outlook has been shared by options traders. Over the past two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 2,500 calls have been bought to open compared to fewer than 60 puts, boosting BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.'s  (NASDAQ:BMRN) 10-day call/put volume ratio to an annual high of 44.64. This trend is continuing today, with call volume running at five times the normal intraday rate, and arriving in the 99th percentile of its annual range. 

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Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) has slid 1.8% today to trade at $130.27, after BofA-Merrill Lynch cut its rating to "underperform" from "neutral," citing an "unachievable" cash flow forecast related to the aerospace firm's 787 Dreamliner program. Bearish options traders, meanwhile, are on the prowl ahead of Boeing's earnings report next Wednesday morning.

Diving right in, over 10,000 put options have crossed the tape so far, doubling the expected intraday pace. Most active is the weekly 4/29 130 strike, where traders are buying to open positions in the hopes of extended losses south of $130, through next Friday night's expiration.

This represents quite the change of pace, relative to BA's recent options trading history. Specifically, during the past two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), options traders have bought to open 1.23 calls for every put. The corresponding call/put volume ratio ranks in the bullishly skewed 88th percentile of its annual range.

That's not to say skepticism is lacking on the Street. As evidenced by the aforementioned downgrade, analysts aren't sold on BA. In fact, eight of 13 consider the shares a "hold" or worse. Likewise, 27 million shares are sold short -- a multi-year high -- which would take roughly one week to cover, at BA's typical trading volumes.

The skeptics have their reasons, too. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) has had a turbulent 2016. Year-to-date, the aerospace stock has dived 9.9%, and its recent rally was swatted down by the descending 160-day moving average. More losses could be in store after earnings next week, too, as BA lost 8.9% in the session following its late-January report.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is once again flirting with the even 18,000 level. As you can see in the chart below, the index has struggled with this level in the past. These even levels can be psychological barriers that act as resistance for stocks when approached from below. They can also act as support once the level is overtaken.

Even levels are popular points for investors to assess the markets and establish demarcation lines of "expensive" or "cheap." Looking at the chart below, over the past couple of years it seems investors have established 18,000 as expensive ("so take profits here") and 16,000 as cheap ("so buy in right here"). This week, I'm taking an in-depth look at how the Dow has performed when approaching these even levels, and how sentiment has played a role.

                           

Dow Crosses Even Levels: The first table below shows how the Dow has performed after crossing above even 1,000 levels. I’m only looking at levels of 10,000 or more, and went back to 1999, the year the Dow first crossed 10,000. Also, the index had to be below the level for at least a month. 

The Dow tends to struggle when these even levels come into play. After topping these levels, the index averages a negative return over the next week and over the next three months. The other time frames also show underperformance in terms of average return and percent positive. Also notable is the standard deviation of returns. By this measure, volatility decreases after crossing even levels, indicating a tendency to chop around these levels.  
                                 

 

Layering in Sentiment: Despite the strong rally over the past couple of months and the fact that the Dow is less than 2% away from all-time highs, the percentage of bulls in the Investors Intelligence (II) sentiment poll is below 50%. The tables below break down the returns of the Dow after crossing even levels by whether the percentage of II bulls is below 50% (like right now) or above 50%. The results are more encouraging when you take into account investor sentiment.

The average six-month return is negative in the first table, but that is skewed by a nearly 30% loss after a signal in April 2008, during the financial crisis. The three-month returns are pretty much in line with anytime returns (compare it to the table above) and the one-month returns are quite strong, with the DJIA averaging a gain of 1.25% and positive 75% of the time. 

When sentiment has been more optimistic (see the second table below), then crossing these even levels has been especially dreadful  for the Dow. But when there is relatively more pessimism, like right now, then these even levels have been much less of an obstruction. 

                        

 

After initially rising on a weaker U.S. dollar and rising oil prices, Asian stocks finished the day mostly lower. China's Shanghai Composite led the way south, dropping 2.3% -- its biggest single-day percentage loss since late February -- with some speculating the loss was driven by short-term liquidity concerns and uncertainty over future stimulus measures. Likewise, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.9% and 0.3%, respectively. Bucking the trend lower, Japan's Nikkei picked up 0.2%, aided by a relatively weaker yen.

European markets are mostly higher today, shaking off a retreat in crude oil prices thanks to a rally among mining stocks. Upbeat earnings also are serving as a positive catalyst, with strong gains from AccorHotels contributing to the French CAC 40's 0.2% lead. Germany's DAX is on the plus side of the ledger, as well, up 0.2%. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 has edged 0.1% lower, as a rise in the U.K. unemployment rate -- the first since last July -- overshadows a positive earnings reaction for ARM Holdings.

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Analysts are weighing in on blue chip Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), telecom stock CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ:CAMP), and chipmaker Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on AAPL, CAMP, and INTC.

• AAPL is slightly lower in pre-market trading, after Barclays reduced its price target to $131 from $142, but kept its "overweight" rating. The vast majority of analysts are bullish on Apple Inc., but options traders have taken an uncharacteristically bearish approach in recent months. Specifically, AAPL's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 0.68 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) tops 91% of all other readings from the past year. Technically speaking, the stock was gaining ground since its January lows, but has cooled in recent sessions, closing Tuesday at $106.91. 

• CAMP is set to lose almost 13% when the market opens due to a poorly received earnings report. Analysts were quick to swoop in, with William Blair downgrading the stock to "market perform," while no fewer than four other brokerage firms lowered their price targets. It's already been a disappointing year for CalAmp Corp., with the shares 12.5% lower year-to-date, last seen at $17.43. Short interest has been rising as a result, jumping 14% during the last two reporting periods. Now, almost 12% of CAMP's float is sold short, representing seven sessions' worth of trading, at the stock's typical daily volume. 

• Along with announcing earnings in line with expectations, INTC said it would be cutting roughly 12,000 jobs, or 11% of its workforce. The move comes as Intel Corporation tries to counter falling PC sales. INTC had been consolidating just above $31 in recent sessions, closing Tuesday at $31.60 -- slightly shy of its year-over-year breakeven mark. Elsewhere on the Street, analysts are trimming their expectations, with Northland Capital cutting its rating to "market perform" from "outperform," and its price target to $35 from $40. Goldman Sachs and Cowen also lowered their respective price targets to $33 and $32 -- though Jefferies raised its target to $42, in 15-year high territory. Most analysts were in the bulls' camp as of last night's close, with 71% calling INTC a "buy" or better. The shares are set to drop 1.8% at the bell.

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U.S. stocks are set to open higher, thanks to a rebound in crude oil prices. Among equities in focus today are financial firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), drugmaker Heron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HRTX), and solar stock Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE).

• GS reported a slump in earnings for the fourth straight quarter, though its per-share profit still topped estimates. Meanwhile, the bank's revenue dropped roughly 40% year-over-year -- to the lowest level in more than four years -- and came up short of the Street's consensus view. The collective news has Goldman Sachs Group Inc ready to steepen its nearly 12% year-to-date deficit, off 0.4% ahead of the bell, after closing at $159.02 last night. Heading into the event, short-term options traders were extremely call-skewed. Meanwhile, short sellers have been heading to the sidelines. During the most recent reporting period, short interest on GS plummeted 43%, and now less than 1% of the stock's float is sold short.

• HRTX is ready to explode 16.8% higher out of the gate, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said there were no deficiencies in the biotech's marketing application for anti-vomiting drug Sustol, and added that labeling talks have commenced. Today's expected bull gap will help close Heron Therapeutics Inc's year-to-date hole of 19.5%, which has the stock resting at $21.49. On the sentiment front, analysts are all in on HRTX, as 100% consider the shares worthy of a "strong buy" endorsement.

• Activist investor David Einhorn and his hedge fund Greenlight Capital have each slashed their stakes in SUNE, according to recent SEC filings. The news is drilling the stock in pre-market trading, with Sunedison Inc down 3.1% after closing Monday at $0.34. Of course, the shares are no stranger to big losses, losing nearly all of their value over the past few months amid mounting bankruptcy buzz. Meanwhile, short-term options traders have grown extremely put-skewed toward SUNE. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) registers at an annual high of 1.64.

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Analysts are weighing in on tech stock International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), drugmaker Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX), and restaurant stock Panera Bread Co (NASDAQ:PNRA). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on IBM, PCRX, and PNRA.

• IBM reported its worst revenue in 14 years -- marking a 16th consecutive quarterly decline in sales -- though Big Blue's earnings topped estimates. The stock was last seen 4.2% lower at $146.19, on pace for its seventh straight post-earnings sell-off. Still, International Business Machines Corp. holds a 6% year-to-date lead, and analysts are actually raising their expectations. For example, no fewer than four brokerage firms upped their price targets on IBM this morning, with Independent Research setting the bar the highest at $165. And theoretically, the stock could see additional price-target increases, since it's still trading above its consensus 12-month price target of $141.09. 
  
  
• At $65.02, PCRX is up 1.7%, after the company announced Charles Reinhart, III, will take over as its chief financial office. The stock is benefiting from a fresh "buy" rating at Mizuho, which set its price target at $79. Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc started 2016 on the wrong foot, but since flirting with the $45 area in mid-March, has gained 44.5%. Short sellers are hoping this technical success ends soon. PCRX's short-interest ratio stands at 10.20, as more than one-fifth of its float is sold short. 
  
  
• PNRA is up 2.7% this morning at $217, closing in on its all-time high of $220.44 from March, after another round of bullish attention from the Street. Specifically, KeyBanc raised its outlook to "overweight," while Jefferies upgraded PNRA's rating to "buy" from "hold," and boosted its price target to $245 from $195. Following this morning's bullish gap, Panera Bread Co is now situated well above the recently supportive $205 level and its rising 50-day moving average, and could continue to rally if short sellers keep covering their positions. Short interest declined during the past two reporting periods, but at the stock's average daily trading volumes, it'd still take PNRA shorts more than six days to buy back their shares. Looking ahead, the restaurant chain will report earnings one week from tonight.

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Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) tumbled yesterday at the hands of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and today, fellow tech stock eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) is plunging -- and AMZN is to blame. Specifically, shares of EBAY have dropped 2.5% to $24.67, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "underweight" from "equal weight" and lowered its price target to $22.50 from $24, citing increased competition from Amazon Prime. Against this backdrop, put options have the edge over call options in early trading -- a sharp contrast to what's typically seen in EBAY's options pits.

By the numbers, 1,513 puts have changed hands thus far, compared to 1,458 calls -- a relatively slow start to the day for EBAY options traders. Longer term, 57,172 call options have been bought to open at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) over the past 10 trading days, versus 2,117 put options. The resultant call/put volume ratio of 27.01 sits just 1 percentage point from a 52-week peak, meaning calls have been bought to open over puts at a near-annual-high clip.

Echoing this call-skewed backdrop is EBAY's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.39, which sits lower than 98% of all comparable readings taken in the past year. In other words, short-term traders have rarely been as call-heavy toward EBAY as they are now.

Looking back over the past two weeks' worth of trading, EBAY's weekly 4/29 24-strike and June 26 calls have seen the largest increases in open interest, with 63,437 contracts added. According to the major options exchanges, some buy-to-open activity has occurred here, meaning traders expect EBAY to rally north of the strikes by the respective expiration dates -- the former of which comes right on the heels of the firm's first-quarter earnings report, due next Tuesday evening.

Technically, shares of eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) have been edging higher since hitting an annual low of $21.52 on Feb. 8, up 14.6%. However, the stock remains stuck beneath its 80-week moving average -- a trendline the security breached after EBAY's last earnings report in late January.

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Precious metals are on fire today, led higher by silver -- which hit a 10-month high earlier on Chinese buying, a weaker dollar, and reports that hedge funds have been upping their holdings in the commodity. Accordingly, the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) is up 4.7% at $16.15, and options traders are piling on.

At last check, SLV options are trading at twice the usual intraday rate. One of the most active strikes is the May 15 put, where it looks like a mix of buy- and sell-to-open activity is taking place. If that is the case, the buyers expect SLV to retreat below $15 by front-month options expiration -- at the close on Friday, May 20 -- while the sellers anticipate the underfoot level will serve as technical support during the upcoming month.

Taking a step back, options buyers have been gravitating toward calls over puts in recent weeks. SLV's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 4.24 outstrips three-quarters of readings from the past year -- with long calls besting puts by a more than 4-to-1 margin.

On the charts, the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) has had a sensational 2016. Year-to-date, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) has racked up a more than 22% gain, and is on track for its highest closing price since May 22.

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