Buzz Stocks: Tesla, ARIAD Pharma, and Uniqure NV

U.S. stocks are bracing for a steep drop out of the gate, following a lackluster nonfarm payrolls report on Friday. In company news, today's stocks to watch include electric automaker Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), as well as drugmakers Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) and Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE).

• TSLA achieved a quarterly record for most car deliveries during the first three months of 2015. Roughly 10,000 vehicles were sold within that time frame -- a 55% year-over-year jump -- though the pace is well short of CEO Elon Musk's projected 55,000 deliveries for the year. Ahead of the bell, Tesla Motors Inc is pointed 4% north of Thursday's close at $191, continuing its recent bounce from support in the round $180 region. Should the shares continue to display technical strength, there's plenty of sideline cash available to fuel additional gains. Roughly one-quarter of TSLA's float is sold short, which would take nearly a week to cover, at the equity's average daily trading volume.


• ARIA is 3% higher in electronic trading, after the firm's Iclusig leukemia treatment was granted regulatory approval for use in Canada. Technically speaking, the security has had a successful 2015 so far, rallying 19.1% to trade at $8.18. Not surprisingly, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have been buying to open calls over puts at a breakneck pace of late. Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s 10-day call/put volume ratio of 30.01 indicates 30 calls have been bought to open for every put during the last two weeks -- a ratio that ranks in the 79th percentile of its annual range.


• Finally, QURE is surging in pre-market trading, up 46.1% after the firm announced a gene therapy partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY). As part of the deal, BMY will pay $33.84 per share to secure a 4.9% equity stake in Uniqure NV -- a 48% premium to Thursday's closing price of $22.86. Longer term, it's been a banner year for QURE, which has outperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 30 percentage points over the past three months. As such, all four analysts covering QURE have given the shares a "strong buy" recommendation.