Highs & Lows: Facebook, Accenture, Methode, Chesapeake Energy

Facebook Inc (FB), Accenture Plc (ACN), Methode Electronics Inc. (MEI), and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) have all hit notable milestones in today's trading

Jun 25, 2015 at 11:40 AM
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It's been a volatile week of price action on Wall Street, resulting in a record-setting run for the Nasdaq Composite (COMP). In today's session, a number of equities are notching notable milestones, including social networking giant Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), business support specialist Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN), electrical device maker Methode Electronics Inc. (NYSE:MEI), and oil-and-gas issue Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK).

Highs

For the second day in a row, FB has hit its highest mark on record -- this time, topping out at $89.40. At last check, though, the stock was off 0.5% at $88.41. With Facebook Inc's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) currently docked at 75 -- in overbought territory -- a near-term breather may have been in the cards. Short-term speculators, meanwhile, have shown a distinct preference for calls over puts. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.49 sits lower than 98% of all comparable readings taken in the past year.

ACN notched an all-time peak of $100.47 out of the gate, and was more recently seen lingering just above the century mark at $100.05. Helping push the shares higher was the company's stellar fiscal third-quarter earnings report and upwardly revised full-year revenue forecast. Additionally, Evercore ISI raised its price target to $108 from $107, and SocGen bumped its target to $102 from $86, while CNBC's Jim Cramer waxed optimistic, saying the stock is "killing it." Should Accenture Plc extend its more than 12% year-to-date advance, another round of price-target hikes could come down the pike. The consensus 12-month price target of $100.18 is within a chip-shot of current trading levels.

Lows

MEI is off 32% at $29.30 -- after earlier hitting a new annual low of $28.65 -- and on track to close south of its 320-day moving average for the first time since December 2012, thanks to a disappointing turn in the earnings confessional. What's more, the stock -- which is on the short-sale restricted list -- has now erased all of its year-to-date and year-over-year gains, which could have option bulls hitting the bricks. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Methode Electronics Inc.'s 50-day call/put volume ratio of 6.07 ranks in the 77th annual percentile. In other words, calls have been bought to open over puts at an accelerated clip in recent months.

It's been a rough ride for CHK over the past 52 weeks, down 61%. Today, the shares are 3.3% lower -- and fresh off a six-year low of $11.12 -- at $11.17, following a downgrade to "sell" from "neutral" at UBS. Specifically, the brokerage firm said CHK "carries far too much financial leverage, prompting a material reduction in activity that is contributing to a declining production profile." This isn't the first analyst to slap Chesapeake Energy Corporation with a bearish brokerage note. Overall, 85% of those covering the shares maintain a "hold" or worse recommendation.

 

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