Buzz Stocks: AbbVie, The Macerich Co., Canadian Solar

U.S. stocks are primed to run higher out of the gate, following some encouraging interest rate developments from across the pond. In company news, today's stocks to watch include pharmaceutical firm AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV), real estate investment trust (REIT) Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC), and alternative energy concern Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ).

• ABBV has agreed to acquire Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCYC), maker of blood-cancer drug Imbruvica, for $21 billion, or $261.25 per share -- a 13.4% premium to PCYC's closing price on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc CEO Richard Gonzalez called the purchase a "strategically compelling opportunity" that will "add enormous value to AbbVie." PCYC was also reportedly being pursued by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and others. On the charts, ABBV has struggled, losing 7.9% in 2015 to trade at $60.27, and is poised to drop nearly 5% out of the gate. Accordingly, option bears have honed in on the stock, according to data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). ABBV's 50-day put/call volume ratio across this trio of exchanges is 0.62, which rests just 14 percentage points from a 12-month peak.


• MAC is being courted by Simon Property Group Inc (NYSE:SPG), according to The Wall Street Journal. While sources say a formal offer has yet to be tendered, Macerich Co has already discussed potential takeover defense strategies, the Journal said. Technically speaking, MAC's momentum has slowed in 2015, with the shares up just 0.5% at $83.80 -- though that could change today, with the stock pointed 2% higher in premarket trading. Meanwhile, short sellers have been piling on. During the latest reporting period, short interest on MAC soared almost 141% to roughly 6.4 million shares -- which would take seven sessions to cover, at typical daily trading levels.


• Finally, CSIQ posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings this morning, as the company's net profit more than tripled year-over-year. CEO Shawn Qu also announced potential plans to list the firm's power plant-building unit in a yield co. As such, the shares are up 5% ahead of the open, poised to add to the equity's year-to-date advance of 24.8%. Meanwhile, the brokerage bunch has jumped on Canadian Solar Inc.'s bullish bandwagon, with 100% of covering analysts issuing a "buy" or better recommendation. What's more, CSIQ's average 12-month price target of $43.33 stands in territory not charted in nearly a year, and represents a 43.6% premium to Wednesday's close at $30.18. However, such optimism isn't reflected in the stock's options pits.