Today's stocks to watch in the news include The Coca-Cola Co (KO), Angie's List Inc (ANGI), and Broadcom Corporation (BRCM)
U.S. stocks are likely starting today in the red, as traders await existing home sales and crude inventories data. Additionally, several notable names reported earnings, including blue-chip beverage behemoth The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), online review website Angie's List Inc (NASDAQ:ANGI), and semiconductor firm Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM).
- The shares of KO are 2.1% higher ahead of the bell, after the firm posted a first-quarter earnings beat highlighted by rising revenue. Technically speaking, The Coca-Cola Co has been choppy since its Nov. 28 all-time high of $45, closing Tuesday at $40.78. However, traders have favored calls over puts in the options pits, as KO's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 4.59 stands in the 99th percentile of its annual range. What's more, KO's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.65 is lower than 84% of all similar readings from the past year, showing that near-term speculators have rarely been this call-skewed over that time period.
- ANGI is enjoying a post-earnings lift this morning as well -- with the shares up 14.6% in electronic trading -- after the company announced a surprise quarterly profit. On the charts, Angie's List Inc has been an underperformer, with the shares down 52.3% year-over-year to close yesterday at $6.15. However, today's bump will likely pull the shares of ANGI out of the red for 2015. Some traders are likely bemoaning ANGI's positive earnings reaction, as over 21% of the equity's available float is sold short. It would take these bettors roughly 11 sessions to cover their positions, at average trading volumes.
- The shares of BRCM are up 6.2% in pre-market trading, after the firm released first-quarter earnings that toppled the Street's predictions. This good news is more of the same for Broadcom Corporation, as the shares are up over 46% year-over-year to finish Tuesday at $43.98. Accordingly, calls have been prominent in the options pits, as BRCM's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 12.31 is higher than 89% of all equivalent readings from the past year. The brokerage is mostly optimistic on BRCM as well, as 63% of covering analysts rate the stock a "buy" or "strong buy." What's more, BRCM has already scored no fewer than nine price-target hikes since last night.