Buzz Stocks: Dyax, Chesapeake Energy, GoDaddy

U.S. benchmarks are looking to start the second quarter on a sour note, as this week's glut of jobs data begins to pour in. Among specific equities in focus are biopharmaceutical firm Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ:DYAX), oil-and-gas issue Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), and Big Board newcomer Godaddy Inc (NYSE:GDDY).

• DYAX is up 49% in electronic trading -- and poised to hit a fresh 14-year high -- after the firm posted upbeat early stage trial results for its experimental drug, DX-2930, used to treat a rare inflammatory disease called hereditary angioedema. What's more, the news was met with a round of price-target hikes, including one from Wedbush, which nearly doubled its target price to $35 from $18. Elsewhere, Cowen and Company raised its price target to $30 from $17.50, saying it expects the drug to move right to a late-stage trial, and projected a 2018 market launch and sales of $650 million by 2021. Heading into today's session, Dyax Corp. was already sporting an impressive 19% year-to-date lead, and closed last night at $16.75. Meanwhile, in the options pits, short-term speculators are more put-heavy now than they've been at any point over the past year. Specifically, DYAX's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.09 rests at annual high.


• CHK is trading 2% higher ahead of the bell, following reports that company Chairman Archie W. Dunham purchased 1 million shares of the stock on March 27 at $13.89 apiece, representing a 1.3% discount to Tuesday's settlement at $14.16. This news comes on the heels of last week's revelation that Carl Icahn has taken a glass-half-full approach to the equity, as well. Technically speaking, it's been a rough ride for CHK, which has surrendered nearly 43% of its value over the past 52 weeks. Against this backdrop, sentiment around the Street is skewed toward the skeptical side. Roughly 79% of analysts maintain a "hold" or worse recommendation toward Chesapeake Energy Corporation, while 17% of the security's float is sold short.


• Coming off a slow quarter of initial public offerings, web domain provider GDDY will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this morning. The company priced its IPO at $20 per share -- raising $460 million -- more than the previously expected range of $17 to $19 per share. Meanwhile, although Godaddy Inc hasn't produced a profit in roughly six years, it is currently valued at around $3 billion.