Stocks On the Move: ChannelAdvisor Corp, Genworth Financial Inc, and Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.

ECOM, GNW, and SLXP are moving sharply in Friday's trading

Nov 7, 2014 at 11:32 AM

Around midday, three of the top market movers are software-as-a-service firm ChannelAdvisor Corp (NYSE:ECOM), wealth management issue Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW), and drugmaker Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP). Here's a quick roundup of how ECOM, GNW, and SLXP are performing on the charts so far.

ECOM is soaring this morning, following a slimmer-than-expected third-quarter loss and a 26% jump in revenue. At last check, the shares are 42.3% higher at $17.36, despite receiving price-target cuts to $21 at Raymond James and $19 at BMO -- though the firms reiterated their respective "outperform" and "market perform" evaluations. Longer term, ChannelAdvisor Corp shares have struggled considerably, down roughly 58% year-to-date. As such, short sellers have been active, as 23.7% of the stock's float is sold short. At ECOM's average daily trading level, it would take approximately two weeks to buy back all of these bearish bets. In fact, some of today's gains may be attributable to short sellers covering their positions.

GNW continues to plummet in the wake of its huge quarterly loss, reported yesterday. For the second straight session, the shares are down double digits, off 10.6% at $7.74, and fresh off another annual low of $7.17. While shareholders can't be too happy about these developments, it appears plenty of option players should be. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Genworth Financial Inc has racked up a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 0.49 -- just 16 percentage points from an annual high.

Finally, SLXP has tumbled 37.2% to trade at $87.09, following a third-quarter earnings miss, a reduced full-year forecast, and an audit probe amid the sudden resignation of the company's chief financial officer. What's more, the stock has been hit with price-target reductions at no fewer than six brokerage firms, and downgrades from a trio of analysts. If Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. keeps falling, it risks getting hit with additional bearish attention. After all, 12 out of 14 covering analysts sport "strong buy" ratings on the shares (versus two "holds" and not a single "sell"), and the stock's consensus 12-month price target stands at a lofty $168.59.

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