Today's stocks to watch include Boeing Co (BA), Biomed Realty Trust Inc (BMR), and Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS)
After pointing higher in pre-market trading, U.S. benchmarks are modestly lower out of the gate. Today's equities in focus are Dow aerospace concern Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), real estate investment trust Biomed Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:BMR), and tech firm Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS).
- BA is down 0.4% at $133.41, as reports surfaced that it has reached a deal to sell 300 aircraft to three firms in China. In addition to the 300-airplane order (which Boeing Co has not confirmed), BA will supposedly set up a completion center in China. Technically, BA is staring up at its 20-month moving average -- last month was the first that the shares finished below this trendline since mid-2012. Short-term option players have stocked up on BA puts, as its Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.07 is higher than 97% of the readings taken during the past 52 weeks. This sentiment is echoed on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), where the aerospace company's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.03 is higher than 98% of the readings taken in the past year.
- According to Bloomberg, BMR is exploring a sale -- and Blackstone Group LP (NYSE:BX) may be interested in buying. Biomed Realty Trust Inc holds a market value of $3.9 billion and is supposedly working with Morgan Stanley on a potential deal. This news has gone over well on Wall Street, as the equity is 10.8% higher at $21.25. The stock has been on a bit of a roller coaster of late, but is attempting to top its 200-day moving average for the first time since early April. Short sellers might be feeling the heat; these bearish bets represent more than four sessions' worth of pent-up buying demand, at BMR's average pace of trading.
- According to Reuters, CTXS is in the throes of "a final attempt to sell itself as a whole before it embarks on asset sales." The news has Citrix Systems, Inc. 1.8% higher at $73.47 in early trading. Technically, shares of the cloud computing concern have marched higher since the mid-August swoon, and look poised to overtake their 10-week trendline for the first time in over a month. Short-term option players have an appetite for calls, as CTXS' SOIR of 0.57 is lower than 89% of the readings taken in the past year. Analysts, however, are split, with 12 offering up "buy" or better ratings, and 11 issuing "hold" or worse opinions.
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