Buzz Stocks: Tesla Motors, Mondelez, and Sunedison

Markets have stumbled at the open, as traders digest the latest jobs data to hit the Street. Meanwhile, among specific equities in focus are electric car concern Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), snack food specialist Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), and alternative energy issue Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE).

• TSLA has plunged 9% out of the gate to $245.74 -- and could notch its worst day in 2015 -- after the company downwardly revised its full-year delivery forecast. Heading into today's session, the stock was boasting a healthy 21.5% year-to-date lead, yet analysts have remained skeptical of the shares. More than half of 15 brokerages covering Tesla Motors Inc maintain a "hold" or worse recommendation on the security. Should TSLA brush off today's post-earnings slip and resume its longer-term uptrend, a round of upbeat analyst notes could help fuel the stock's fire. Separately, research indicates the Model S was able to be hacked, although a solution to the problem has already been found.


• It's a big day for MDLZ, after activist investor Bill Ackman said his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, has taken a $5.5 billion, or 7.5% stake, in the company. (Good news, considering Ackman isn't faring so well in one of his other positions.) Against this backdrop, shares of MDLZ hit a new record peak of $48.58 out of the gate, and were last seen up 2.3% at $47.36. This is just more of the same for a stock that's rallied about 30% year-to-date. Short-term speculators, meanwhile, have rarely been as put-heavy toward the stock as they are now. In fact, Mondelez International Inc's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.59 sits just 5 percentage points from a 52-week peak.


• SUNE is making a string of headlines today, after the firm unveiled second-quarter earnings and boosted its 2016 installation forecast by almost 50%. Yesterday, the company announced it is buying Utah-based Vivant Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR) for about $2.2 billion. The collective news is not being well-received on the Street, however, with shares of Sunedison Inc down 12% to trade at $20.13. This negative price action just echoes the equity's recent trajectory, with SUNE off almost 40% from its July 20 six-year high of $33.45. Short sellers have more than likely been cheering this latest bout of technical turbulence. Short interest accounts for 30.3% of SUNE's float, or 7.6 times the average daily trading volume.

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