Buzz Stocks: Dunkin', ARRIS Group, NCR Corporation

Futures are likely headed lower today, as traders react to earnings from several big-name stocks, including coffee king Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN). In other company news, today's stocks to watch include telecommunications firm ARRIS Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRS) and ATM-maker NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR).

• The shares of DNKN are 8.9% higher ahead of the bell after the company posted a first-quarter earnings beat, announced a quarterly dividend, and raised its outlook for 2015 (subscription required). Technically speaking, the shares have performed well lately, up 11.9% year-to-date to close Wednesday at $47.72. What's more, the stock notched an annual high of $49.56 on April 13, which will likely be toppled today. Looking to the options pits, short-term traders have been more call-heavy than usual on Dunkin Brands Group Inc, as its Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.18 ranks in the 1st percentile of its annual range. Said another way, near-term speculators have rarely been this call-skewed on DNKN over the past year. Meanwhile, short interest on DNKN has declined by roughly 14% over the last two reporting periods, but still accounts for 8.6% of the stock's available float. It would take these traders more than seven sessions to cover their bets, at average trading volumes.

• ARRS announced that it is purchasing U.K.-based set-top box maker Pace plc for $2.1 billion in cash and stock, in an attempt to boost global sales and decrease corporate taxes. At last check, the shares of ARRIS Group, Inc. were 20.2% higher in electronic trading, which will extend a 15.1% year-over-year lead, and should put the shares in decade-plus-high territory. Last night, ARRS closed at $30.54. Many traders are likely bemoaning the news, as puts have been favored over calls in the options pits recently. Drilling down, ARRS' 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 5.24 is higher than 99% of all similar readings from the past year. However, the brokerage bunch is mostly optimistic on the stock, as five out of six covering analysts rate the stock a "buy" or better, with no "sell" or worse recommendations to be found.

• Reports that NCR is exploring strategic options (subscription required) -- including a potential sale -- has the shares 3.9% higher in pre-market trading. On the charts, NCR Corporation has spent the past few months bouncing between support at $26 and resistance near $31, to close Wednesday at $30.07. Sentiment in the options pits has been bearish, though, as NCR's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 4.86 reads in the 91st percentile of its annual range. Echoing this indicator is the security's SOIR of 0.75, which is higher than 98% of all other annual readings from the past year. Said another way, short-term traders have rarely been this put-biased towards NCR over the past 12 months.