Today's stocks to watch include BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY), Deere & Company (DE), and eLong, Inc. (ADR) (LONG)
U.S. stocks are signaling a strong open, ahead of Fed Chair Janet Yellen's afternoon speech. Among the equities in focus are smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), farming equipment firm Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), and online travel concern eLong, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:LONG).
- BBRY is moving higher on news the company will buy back up to 12 million shares. In pre-market action, the stock is 3% higher, after finishing yesterday at $10.27. BlackBerry Ltd could feel some tailwinds, too, if analysts and/or option traders change their skeptical tune. For instance, 16 of 19 brokerage firms say BBRY is a "hold" or worse. Also, at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 0.55 represents an annual bearish peak. Should sentiment shift in a more positive direction, BBRY could add to its 41% year-over-year lead.
- A fiscal second-quarter earnings beat has DE 3.4% higher ahead of the open. Like BBRY, Deere & Company could see an added boost if it can sustain today's potential rally, and answer the skeptics. Twelve of 15 analysts say the stock is only a "hold" or worse. What's even more eye-popping, though, is short interest on DE. Almost 10% of the security's float is sold short, and would take close to three weeks to repurchase, at average daily volumes. There's certainly potential for a short-squeeze situation. The shares settled at $89.46 yesterday.
- LONG is booming in electronic trading, boasting a 33.7% lead, after Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) announced it sold its stake in the company to Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP) and several other parties. This will just add to eLong, Inc.'s impressive 15.1% year-to-date lead, finishing yesterday at $20.65. In fact, these pre-market gains have LONG poised to hit levels not seen since May 2011. There's plenty of sideline cash to fuel additional upside, too, as current short interest levels would take one week to buy back, at the stock's typical daily trading rate.