Buzz Stocks: Apple, Goldman Sachs, Chesapeake Energy

U.S. stocks are poised for another steep plunge this morning, as traders await economic data and speeches from the Fed. Among equities in focus, today's stocks to watch include tech titan Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), big-cap financial firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) and oil-and-gas issue Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK).

• AAPL is headed 2.1% lower, with Wall Street seemingly adopting a "been there, done that" attitude ahead of today's product launch. Specifically, Apple Inc. will unveil the details of its latest iPads later today, as well as its new Mac OS, though the firm stole its own thunder by posting premature pictures in its online user guide. On the charts, AAPL has struggled to make a notable breakout into triple-digit territory, and settled at $97.54 on Wednesday. Despite the stock's stagnation, though, analysts remain upbeat, with 27 out of 33 offering up "buy" or better ratings. Should Apple's event -- or its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, due out after the close on Monday -- fail to impress, a round of downgrades could exacerbate recent selling pressure on the shares.


• GS is poised to open 3.6% lower, despite reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and hiking its dividend. The equity landed at $177.24 on Wednesday, just south of its year-to-date breakeven mark and support at its 60-day moving average. Should the pre-market trajectory continue throughout today, Goldman Sachs Group Inc option traders will likely be feeling the heat. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.72 stands higher than just 8% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting short-term speculators have rarely been more call-biased.


• Finally, CHK is on pace to buck the broad-market trend lower, with the shares headed for an 11% jump out of the gate. Chesapeake Energy Corporation this morning announced that it will sell $5.4 billion in assets to Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN), which "marks a major step in Chesapeake's transformation and a dramatic improvement in our financial strength," said CEO Doug Lawler. On Wednesday, CHK touched a new annual low of $16.69 before settling at $17.77, and has shed 22.7% so far this month. In fact, the stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits deep in oversold territory, at 8, and it's no surprise to find most of the Street bearish. Short interest represents nearly seven sessions' worth of pent-up buying demand, at CHK's average pace of trading, and just four out of 19 analysts dole out "strong buy" opinions.