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TMUS, MCHP, and PPHM are moving sharply in Wednesday's trading
U.S. stocks are decidedly lower this afternoon, as traders digest a raft of dismal economic data and mounting concerns about Ebola. Among the names making significant moves are telecom concern T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS), semiconductor issue Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP), and drugmaker Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PPHM). Here's a quick look at how TMUS, MCHP, and PPHM are faring on the charts today.
- TMUS is down 4.7% at $25.16, and earlier tagged a new annual low of $24.50, a day after France's Iliad scrapped its bid for the U.S. carrier. TMUS has underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by nearly 12 percentage points during the past three months, and its 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) now sits at 28 -- in oversold territory. Against this backdrop, short-term options players have rarely been more put-biased during the past year, as the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.98 sits just 2 percentage points from a 12-month peak. On the flip side, analysts remain optimistic toward T-Mobile US Inc, as 12 out of 15 brokerage firms have doled out "buy" or better endorsements.
- MCHP also touched a new low, dropping to $37.44 after rival QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) dashed its dream of buying CSR Plc. Microchip Technology Inc. shares have surrendered nearly 20% so far this month, after last week gapping lower on an industry warning, and were last seen 1.7% lower at $37.57. The security has underperformed the SPX by more than 17 percentage points during the past 60 sessions, translating into a 14-day RSI of 18 for MCHP. However, not everyone on Wall Street is ruing the stock's fall from grace. Short interest accounts for 11.8% of the shares' total available float, representing nearly 17 sessions' worth of pent-up buying demand, at MCHP's average pace of trading.
- PPHM -- along with other Ebola-related stocks -- is bucking the trend lower, up 14.3% at $1.60. The company -- which will host its annual shareholder meeting tomorrow -- this morning said it will test its experimental Ebola antibody, and traders are waxing optimistic in light of another confirmed case in Dallas. On a year-to-date basis, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals shares have added more than 15%, yet option buyers have been bracing for the worst. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.31 stands higher than 99% of all other readings from the past year. In other words, options traders have bought to open PPHM puts over calls at a near-annual-high clip during the past two weeks.