Buzz Stocks: CymaBay, The Home Depot, SunPower

U.S. benchmarks are hovering around breakeven before the opening bell, with investors looking forward to Fed Chair Janet Yellen's two-day testimony before Congress. Among the equities in focus are drugmaker CymaBay Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CBAY), home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), and alternative energy concern SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR).

• CBAY is set to jump 6.2% out of the gate, after the company announced positive mid-stage results for its gout treatment drug, arhalofenate. The shares have already been on a roll in 2015, adding nearly 25% year-to-date, settling at $12.25 yesterday. What's more, in the past three months, CymaBay Therapeutics Inc has outperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 66 percentage points. Analysts are all in on the shares, with the three brokerage firms tracking the stock calling it a "strong buy." Plus, CBAY's average 12-month price target comes in at $15.33 -- territory never before explored.


• Thanks to better-than-expected same-store sales, an $18 billion share buyback program, and a price-target increase to $126 from $113 from Morgan Stanley, HD is 4.7% higher in electronic trading. The Dow component has been an outperformer on the charts, picking up 44% in the past 52 weeks to finish yesterday at $112.28. Ahead of this morning's earnings report, speculators had been placing bullish bets at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Home Depot Inc's 10-day call/put volume ratio across those exchanges comes in at 1.69, higher than 71% of all similar readings in the past year.


• SPWR is surging in pre-market action, adding on 15.7%, after the company reported it is in advanced talks to form a joint venture with First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR). Separately, the firm also unveiled better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. This projected price move is likely not sitting well with some traders. Roughly one-fifth of SunPower Corporation's float is sold short, representing nearly a week's worth of pent-up buying demand, at its average daily volume. Speculators, too, have been placing bearish bets. In the past 10 weeks at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, the equity has amassed a put/call volume ratio of 0.78 -- in its 92nd annual percentile. SPWR closed last night at $27.80.