Buzz Stocks: Infosys, Revance Therapeutics, Steven Madden

U.S. stocks have reversed their earlier downtrend thanks to an encouraging payrolls report, and are now sitting higher. In company news, today's stocks to watch include IT services firm Infosys Ltd ADR (NYSE:INFY), drugmaker Revance Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RVNC), and shoe designer Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO).

• INFY reported a fiscal third-quarter earnings beat, thanks to strong demand from U.S.-based clients. The company also maintained its sales growth forecast, when most analysts had anticipated a marginal cut. As a result, Infosys Ltd ADR is up more than 7% in electronic trading, which would add to its 14.4% year-over-year lead, as of last night's close at $32.11. This could pave the way for a round of analyst upgrades, as seven out of nine covering brokerage firms rate the shares a tepid "hold." What's more, short interest nearly doubled during the most recent reporting period, bringing short interest levels to 4.4% of INFY's float. At typical daily trading levels, it would take almost three weeks to cover these bearish bets, suggesting the equity could be on the brink of a short-covering rally.


• RVNC reported its injectable botulinum toxin, used to treat severe frown lines and wrinkles, was effective during an early stage study. As such, the stock is pointed nearly 8% higher ahead of the bell. Longer term, however, Revance Therapeutics Inc shares have dropped 19.1% since going public last February, and ended Thursday's session at $16.98. On the sentiment front, just four analysts cover RVNC, with all of them sporting "strong buy" recommendations. In addition, the stock's consensus 12-month price target of $38 more than doubles the current price.


• Finally, SHOO slashed its 2014 earnings guidance after enduring a "challenging" fourth quarter. Weighing on the shoe maker's profits were production delays and added air freight expenses. On the charts, this news threatens to hit a stock that's already surrendered 9.5% year-over-year to trade at $31.25. Amid these technical troubles, short-term options traders have gravitated toward Steven Madden, Ltd. puts over calls. The security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.97 ranks in the 86th percentile of its annual range.