Buzz Stocks: Mattress Firm, Mondelez, and Marvell

1. MFRM is down 17.2% at $49.99 this morning after missing analysts' second-quarter profit estimates, and earlier hit a new annual low of $49.55. Mattress Firm Holding Corp also lowered its full-year earnings outlook, further exacerbating the situation. Bearish option players stocked up on  MFRM ahead of the report, as its 10-day put/call volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) of 3.92 indicates puts bought to open outstripped calls by a nearly 4-to-1 pace over the last couple of weeks. Technically, the stock is trading well south of support from its 20-month moving average, which it has not finished a month below since October 2013. 

• Yesterday, MDLZ reaffirmed its 2015 outlook and 2016 margin target; today, the company is in the news thanks to some comments from Bill Ackman. Speaking on CNBC this morning, the hedge-fund leader said Mondelez International Inc could be a takeover target, and named Kraft Heinz Foods Co (NYSE:HNZ) as a potential suitor. Near-term option players maintain a somewhat bearish stance toward MDLZ, as the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.34 is higher than 87% of the readings taken during the past 52 weeks. At last check, the stock was 0.2% lower at $42.30.


• MRVL plummeted to a new multi-year low of $8.21 once the opening bell sounded, after announcing that it has launched an internal accounting investigation and cautioned that it will report a second-quarter loss. In response to the news, Needham cut Marvell Technology Group Ltd. to "hold" from "buy," while Susquehanna lowered it to "neutral" from "positive" and issued a price-target cut to $9 from $16 (echoing a similar move made by J.P. Morgan Securities last week). At last check, MRVL is off 15.8% at $8.88.
  

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