Transportation concern CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) is on course for its worst day in nearly two years, down 8.7% at $72.60 after the company unveiled second-quarter earnings and revenue that fell lower than analyst estimates. The company cited trade headwinds that weighed on its intermodal business, and it had to cut its full-year forecast, too, with CEO James Foote mentioning "unusual" economic conditions in the conference call.

Analysts have been quick to chime in, with no less than eight price-target cuts issued since last night's report, including J.P. Morgan Securites, Credit Suisse, Stifel and RBC. The two latter cut their target price all the way to a Street low of $75 -- a discount to last night's close. Stephens also got in on the action, downgrading the stock to "equal-weight" from "overweight." There's room for even more bear notes from the brokerage bunch, though. Prior to today, eight of the 17 in coverage called CSX a "buy" or better. 

Looking at CSX's recent behavior on the charts, analysts' bullish sentiment isn't that surprising. Just yesterday, the security hit an intraday high of $80.23 -- just within striking distance of its early May record. Plus, at last night's close, the stock was up 28% year-to-date. Now, however, the equity is back below former support at its 80-day moving average, trading near its late-May dip. 

Short sellers might be kicking rocks today, seeing as short interest dropped 14.1% to 11.22 million shares in the last reporting period. This means there's plenty of room to jump back on the bearish band wagon, though. Now, short interest only represents 1.4% of CSX's available float, or 2.9 days at the security's average pace of trading. 

U.S. stocks are trading in the red today, putting the Dow's win streak in danger. Three penny stocks to watch in today's trading are retailer Francesca's Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FRAN), CAR-T specialist Anixa Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ANIX), and eye care name Guardion Health Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GHSI). Here's a breakdown of how the shares of FRAN, ANIX, and GHSI are trading. 

New Investor Boosts FRAN

FRAN shares were last seen up 14.7% at $3.89, thanks to news Cross River Capital has taken a stake in the company. The move comes after the stock has posted an epic sell-off in the past 12 months, falling from around $90 to a low of $3.27 yesterday. What's more, the equity earlier topped out below the 50-day moving average, a trendline that's been a ceiling on the charts since February.

Not surprisingly, short interest is extremely elevated on Francesca's. Data shows more than 34% of the float tied up in short interest, which would take more than three weeks to cover, based on average daily trading volumes.

Cleveland Clinic Partnership Boosts Anixa

ANIX stock has gained 18.2% to trade at $4.88, after the company said it's teaming up with the Cleveland Clinic to work on a breast cancer vaccine. However, the shares topped out in the low $5 region that capped their last breakout attempt in February. Analysts, though, still have high hopes, indicated by the equity's average 12-month price target of $11.25 -- territory Anixa hasn't touched since early 2014.

Guardion Health Sciences More Than Doubles

The shares of GHSI have surged 180% on news the company's MapcatSF device, which is meant to help in treating multiple eye conditions, has received a patent. The stock has only been on the public markets since April, and today is eyeing its best close since April 18, last seen at $2.69. It originally opened for trading at $3.80 and last week hit its lowest point of 90 cents. The security has yet to pick up any analyst attention.

H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Outlook Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:OTLK) with a "buy" rating and an $8 price target -- a 310% premium to last night's close. The brokerage firm said it expects the company to receive regulatory approval by 2022 for its drug candidate ONS-5010, which is currently being tested in late-stage trials to treat patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and other retina diseases.

In reaction, OTLK stock is up 15.4% at $2.25, headed toward its best day since June 14, when it surged 20.8%. Nevertheless, the shares are still down 44% year-to-date, and have surrendered 69% since hitting an annual high of $10.96 on Feb. 14. Plus, Outlook Therapeutics has failed to fill a mid-April bear gap near $3 -- a level that quickly contained a late-May rally attempt.

Analysts are overwhelmingly upbeat toward the drug stock, though, with 100% in coverage maintaining a "buy" or better. Additionally, the average 12-month price target of $7.50 sits in territory not charted since early April.

Short sellers, on the other hand, have been actively betting against the stock. There are currently 1.4 million OTLK shares sold short, which represents a significant 20% of the equity's available float. This could be amplifying today's upside, as some of the weaker bearish hands rush to cover.

One of the biggest and most surprising earnings losers this morning is Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), down 9.7% to trade at $328.46 this morning. The streaming giant lost 126,000 U.S. video streaming customers for the first time in eight years, and international subscriber additions came in lower than expected. This has offset better-than-expected second-quarter adjusted earnings of 60 cents per share on $4.92 billion in revenue, in-line with expectations.

Analysts have rushed to chime in on the FAANG name. No fewer than 10 brokerages have issued price-target cuts, the lowest coming from Instinet, to $310. Others remain optimistic, with RBC saying Netflix's 'long-term thesis is still intact,' and Piper Jaffray touting new seasons of "Stranger Things," "Orange is the New Black," and "The Crown," as having an impact in the second half of 2019. Pivotal Research and Wedbush both raised their targets, to $440 and $188, respectively. 

This is pacing to be Netflix stock's worst single-session drop since July 2016. It's also on track to be the equity's sixth straight loss, its longest losing streak since mid-May. Now trading at its lowest point since late January, NFLX has breached support at its 320-day moving average, a trendline that caught pullbacks in late May and early June. 

As alluded to above, the analyst community is overwhelmingly bullish on NFLX. Heading into today, 23 of 26 in coverage rate the security a "buy" or better, and its consensus 12-month price target of $385.48 sits just below its Oct. 2 annual high of $386.80. 

Options traders have been betting bullishly. Netflix's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.84 sits in the low 7th percentile of its annual range, suggesting short-term option players have rarely been more call-heavy during the last 12 months. 

Dow component UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) is lower this morning, despite reporting second-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analysts' expectations. The healthcare concern also upped its full-year profit forecast, but the company's CFO predicted 2019 revenue that comes in "at or just slightly below" the previously given range. The earnings report comes just days after the Trump administration withdrew a plan to end rebates paid to insurance companies by drug manufacturers. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth CEO David Wichmann said the company will stick to its plan of implementing point-of-sale rebates to members. At last check, UNH shares are down 1.5% at $262.70. 

Save for today's drop, UNH has been on a tear of late, with only two of its last 11 sessions ending in the red. Just yesterday, the equity was briefly trading atop the $268 region for the first time since late February. Even with a negative earnings reaction priced in, though, UnitedHealth stock is pacing for its best month since January, up 7.6% so far in July, as set to topple its 10-month moving average for the first time in six months.

Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald called UnitedHealth's earnings "solid," reiterating an "overweight" rating on the blue chip. Even before today, analyst sentiment surrounding UNH was extremely optimistic, with all but one of the brokerage firms in coverage calling the stock a "buy" or better. The consensus 12-month price target of $288.45, however, represents a slim 9.8% premium to current levels. 

Things have been bullish in the options pits, too, with nearly two calls bought to open for every put on the on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) during the last 10 days. This ratio sits in the 74th percentile of its annual range, suggesting a much healthier-than-usual appetite for bullish bets during the past two weeks. 

Analysts at Deutsche Bank weighed in on several biotech stocks this morning, including Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:DCPH) and Sutro Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:STRO). The brokerage firm initiated coverage of both DCPH and STRO stocks with a "buy" rating, and their new respective price targets of $42 and $22 suggest the analysts think the equities could double.

Deciphera shares are up 2.2% to trade at $21.01. After breaking out to the upside to trade as high as $26.91 in late June, DCPH stock took a turn for the worse, barreling right through former support in the $22 area. The shares yesterday closed at $20.55 -- their lowest close of 2019, and not far from the equity's year-to-date breakeven.

Despite the stock's struggles in July, most analysts are already in the bulls' corner. DCPH sports six "strong buy" recommendations, compared to one "strong sell." In addition, the consensus 12-month price target of $47.80 represents a premium of 127% to current levels.

On the other hand, short sellers remain prominent. Short interest accounts for 23.5% of the security's total available float, or nearly 17 sessions of trading, at DCPH's average daily volume.

Sutro Biopharma stock, meanwhile, is up 5.9% at $11.68. The company priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $15 a share back in September, and STRO peaked at $15.90 on its first day of trading. In 2019, however, the stock's rally attempts have run into a wall in the $12-$12.50 neighborhood, and the equity has spent the past couple of months bouncing along support in the $11 area.

Again, most analysts are already fans of STRO. The consensus 12-month price target of $26.20 represents expected upside of 124% to current levels, and stands in uncharted territory for the stock. Plus, all four analysts following STRO consider it worthy of a "buy" or better rating.

The last full trading week of July will be light on the economic front, though Wall Street will get a first glance at second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). The earnings calendar is chock-full of notable names, though, with quarterly reports from Dow components Boeing (BA) and Caterpillar (CAT) on the radar. Earnings from FAANG names Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOGL) will also be in focus, and results from Texas Instruments (TXN) will give a clue as to how semiconductors fared in the second quarter.

Below is a brief list of some key market events scheduled for the upcoming week. All earnings dates listed below are tentative and subject to change. Please check with each company's respective website for official reporting dates.

There are no economic reports set for release on Monday, July 22. Cal-Maine (CALM), Halliburton (HAL), Steel Dynamics (STLD), TD Ameritrade (AMTD), and Whirlpool (WHR) will kick off a busy week of earnings.

Existing home sales are due on Tuesday, July 23. Coca-Cola (KO), Travelers (TRV), United Technologies (UTX), Visa (V), Biogen (BIIB), Chipotle (CMG), Fifth Third (FITB), Hasbro (HAS), Harley-Davidson (HOG), JetBlue (JBLU), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Snap (SNAP), Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), and Texas Instruments (TXN) will report earnings.

Wednesday, July 24, brings new home sales and the weekly crude inventories update. Earnings from Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT), Facebook (FB), AT&T (T), American Airlines (AAL), F5 Networks (FFIV), Ford Motor (F), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Hilton (HLT), PayPal (PYPL), Tesla (TSLA), UPS (UPS), and VF Corp (VFC) are expected.

Durable goods orders will hit on Thursday, July 25, alongside international trade data and weekly jobless claims. 3M (MMM), Intel (INTC), Dow (DOW), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Comcast (CMCSA), Deckers Outdoor (DECK), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Mattel (MAT), Starbucks (SBUX), and Southwest Airlines (LUV) will step into the earnings confessional.

The advance reading on second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will be released on Friday, July 26. McDonald's (MCD), AbbVie (ABBV), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Twitter (TWTR), Phillips 66 (PSX), and Weyerhaeuser (WY) will unveil earnings.

U.S. stocks are eyeing their third straight close in the red today, as Wall Street weighs a batch of disappointing earnings reports. Three stocks also below breakeven, due to bear notes from analysts, are weed concern Aurora Cannabis Inc (NYSE:ACB), online advertising issue Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD), and oil titan Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). Here's a look at how ACB, TTD, and XOM stocks are faring.

BofA-Merrill Lynch Predicts Cash Burn for ACB

Aurora Cannabis is looking to snap a three-day win streak, down 6% at $6.96 -- and on pace for its worst session since January -- after BofA-Merrill Lynch downgraded the pot stock to "neutral" from "buy," and cut its price target to $8 from $10. The brokerage firm believes the cannabis company could be cash-negative by the first quarter of 2020, should it fail to secure financing.

ACB has been in a channel of lower highs and lows since peaking above $10 in March. However, the stock remains 40% higher year-to-date, and beloved by analysts. Prior to today, five of the seven brokerage firms in coverage called the equity a "buy" or better, while the consensus 12-month price target of $9 hasn't been touched since April, and represents a 29% premium to current levels. 

Jefferies Said "Hold" Trade Desk, But Lifted Price Target

Digital ad concern Trade Desk just got downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at Jefferies. The analyst said the valuation multiple at all-time highs may already reflect the bullish case for TTD, pointing out that the shares have quintupled since early 2018. Nevertheless, Jefferies lifted its price target to $250 from $225. 

Today, TTD is trading south of this price target, down 2.6% at $238.44. From a longer-term perspective, the security has been stair-stepping higher over the past year, and touched a record high of $257.99 on June 20. Nevertheless, near-term options traders are more put-heavy than usual, as the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.08 is higher than 83% of all other readings from the past year.

Options Bears Ramp Up Amid Exxon Mobil Analyst Downgrade

Oil name Exxon Mobil is headed for its fourth day in the red, after RBC warned against macro headwinds and the company's chemicals exposure -- "a key reason for weakness in earnings." The analyst downgraded the equity to "sector perform" from "outperform," and slashed its price target to $90 from $100. Dropping oil prices have affected XOM stock today too, which is now down 1.4% at $74.43 -- set for its lowest close in a month.

Options bears have flocked the stock as a result, with 20,000 puts across the tape so far -- two times the average intraday pace. The July 75 put is the most popular by far, followed by the August 75 put, and it looks like one trader may be rolling their bearish position ahead of July options expiration tomorrow. 

J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) is down 10.1% to trade at $0.97 -- heading toward its worst day since Aug. 16 -- after a Reuters report indicated the embattled department store is exploring debt restructuring options. According to the article, JCP has met with lawyers and investment bankers who specialize in restructuring in hopes of avoiding the bankruptcy path taken by fellow retailers Toys "R" Us and Sears Holdings.

Looking closer at the charts, JCP has been stuck in single-digit territory since late 2016. More recently, the shares were down almost 58% year-over-year heading into today's trading, and tagged a record low of $0.80 on May 29. The equity went on to edge back above is year-to-date breakeven level, but today's bear gap puts J C Penney back in the red for 2019.

Against this backdrop, analysts are overwhelmingly bearish on JCP stock, with all 13 in coverage maintaining a "hold" or worse rating. Plus, the average 12-month price target is docked at $1.11 -- a slim 2.8% premium to last night's close.

Elsewhere, short sellers have lined up on the right side of J C Penney stock. The 120.9 million JCP shares controlled by short sellers accounts for almost 40% of the security's float, or almost 13 days of trading. These bears are sidelined today, though, with the equity on the short-sale restricted list.

Food delivery app GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB) is moving slightly higher this morning, up 0.1% at $74.97, after a fresh bull note out of Benchmark. Specifically, the brokerage firm initiated coverage with a "buy" rating and $95 price target, representing a 27% premium to last night's close. Analyst Daniel Kurnos said the stock is at "a tasty entry point," and main drivers for upside include improving margins and diner retention, as well as relatively modest fundamental expectations on the name.

After a rough start to the year, GRUB has rebounded off its recent lows near the round $60 mark. More recently, the shares have been consolidating atop their previous highs in the $74-$75 region, which roughly coincides with their 20-day moving average, and the stock is nearing its year-to-date breakeven point.

Overall, analysts remain split regarding GrubHub stock. Of the 19 covering firms, 10 sport a "strong buy" recommendation, while nine carry a "hold" or "strong sell." The stock's average 12-month price target stands at a lofty $98.04, however, representing a more than 30% premium to current levels.

Short interest has inched its way 2.4% higher over the past two reporting periods, but now accounts for more than 20% of the stock's total available float. At GRUB's average pace of trading, it would take shorts nearly seven days to buy back their bearish bets.

The shares of WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) are up 5.9% to trade at $26.70 today -- one of the better stocks on the Nasdaq this morning -- after D.A. Davidson delivered an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral," while upping its price target to $32 from $24.50. Analyst Linda Weiser thinks the Oprah stock has moved off its low, noting encouraging subscriber trends and improving brand sentiment that could mitigate 2019 earnings risk.

Weight Watchers stock has now added 50% since its May 31 bottom at $16.71. Thanks to today, WW has now nearly filled its earnings-induced late-February bear gap, while also toppling its 160-day moving average for the first time since August. Year-to-date though, the shares are still down 32.5%. 

If this is indeed a turning point for the stock, there's ample room aboard the bullish bandwagon among analysts. Of the 11 brokerages in coverage of WW, 10 rate it a "hold" or "sell," while its consensus 12-month price target of $26.06 is flat to current trading levels.

A continued exodus of short sellers could also keep the wind at the security's back. Short interest declined by almost 15% in the last two reporting periods to 9.12 million shares, the lowest since April. Still, this accounts for a healthy 15% of WW's total available float, and three times the average daily trading volume.

Newly public cybersecurity stock CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) is enjoying a serious surge following the company's earnings debut. CrowdStrike reported fiscal first-quarter earnings in line with analysts' estimates, and revenue that beat expectations. The firm also predicted stronger-than-expected current-quarter figures. CRWD stock is up 14.5% at $83.28, and earlier touched a record high of $85.85. 

It's been a good run for CrowdStrike so far. The stock, which debuted on June 12, is now trading at more than double its initial public offering (IPO) price of $34.

The revenue beat has analysts flocking to the stock with bull notes. So far, RBC, Credit Suisse, Jefferies, Stifel, Needham, and J.P. Morgan Securities have all lifted their price targets, with the latter coming in on top with a $104 estimate. There's certainly room for more price-target hikes, though. Now, the consensus 12-month target price of $87.44 sits at a slim premium to current levels. This goes for analyst upgrades, too; while 11 call CRWD stock a "buy" or better, five still say "hold."

Options buyers are likely celebrating today, too. In the past 10 days, 3.03 CrowdStrike calls were bought for every put on the on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX).