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BBRY, CSIQ, and CZR are moving sharply in Wednesday's trading
Markets are in retreat mode today, as concern over bank fines and the state of Europe's economy weigh on investor sentiment. Drilling down on specific equities making notable moves are mobile phone maker BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), alternative energy issue Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ), and casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR). Here's a closer look at how BBRY, CSIQ, and CZR are performing on the charts so far.
- BBRY was up more than 5% earlier, but has since pared its lead to 2.1%, as optimism builds ahead of tomorrow's highly anticipated investor day. It's been quite a week for BBRY, which has rallied almost 7% from last Friday's close to its current perch at $11.23, thanks to upbeat comments from CEO John Chen, and tomorrow, the company will launch its new BES12 mobile management platform. Should the stock continue its upward momentum, a round of upgrades and/or a short-covering rally could help fuel the equity's fire. In fact, all 20 analysts covering the shares maintain a "hold" or worse suggestion. Plus, one-fifth of the stock's float is sold short, and it would take nearly eight sessions to cover these bearish bets, at BlackBerry Ltd's average daily pace of trading.
- CSIQ has plunged 8.5% to trade at $28.80 -- and back below its year-to-date breakeven line -- as a lower-than-expected current-quarter forecast overshadows a third-quarter earnings beat. Heading into today's session, option traders had shown a preference for long calls over puts, as evidenced by the equity's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 5.58, which ranks in the 87th percentile of its annual range. In the front-month series, call players had targeted Canadian Solar Inc.'s November 33.50 strike, and in today's session, it appears a number of these traders are throwing in the towel on their bullish bets ahead of next Friday's expiration.
- CZR has rallied more than 27% to linger near $14.20, as the company attempts to get its bankruptcy ducks in a row. Specifically, the firm is working with a number of its largest lenders to organize a restructuring plan for the Chapter 11 proceedings of its biggest unit -- Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. Year-to-date, though, the shares are still staring at a steep 34% deficit. Not surprisingly, sentiment around the Street is tilted toward the skeptical side. At the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, for example, the stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 4.13 ranks 10 percentage points from an annual bearish peak. Elsewhere, all four analysts covering the shares maintain a "hold" or worse suggestion, and nearly half of the equity's total available float is sold short.