Buzz Stocks: KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc, eFuture Information Technology Inc., and Target Corporation

Today's stocks to watch include KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc (KBIO), eFuture Information Technology Inc. (EFUT), and Target Corporation (TGT)

Nov 27, 2015 at 9:31 AM

U.S. indexes are set to open modestly higher, as investors shrug off a sell-off in China and await Black Friday numbers from retailers on this shortened trading day. Among the equities in focus are biotech interest KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KBIO), Chinese tech concern eFuture Information Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:EFUT), and retail giant Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT).

KBIO is set to continue its incredible rally, pointed 48.3% higher in pre-market trading. This morning's excitement comes after KaloBios Pharmaceutical Inc CEO Martin Shkreli tweeted he would not lend any stock to traders looking to short KBIO. After spending almost all of 2015 trending sideways below $5.00, the shares of KBIO skyrocketed last week, after Shkreli reported his significant investment in the company. After hitting a two-year high of $45.82 on Monday, the shares took a sharp dip, but started rapidly climbing the charts on Wednesday, ending at $26.63 -- and bringing its November gain to nearly 1,300%.

News of a major investor has EFUT poised to pop 100% ahead of the bell this morning. Chinese billionaire Zhongchu Li revealed a controlling 50.5% stake in the company, sending the shares through the roof. Earlier this week, eFuture Information Technology Inc. shares touched a six-year high of $12.43 after reporting earnings, but backpedaled to $8.15 by Wednesday's close. Today, however, the stock could open at a seven-year high. While short interest on EFUT appears quite low, accounting for 0.6% of the stock's float, that number is a nearly 8,000% increase over the short interest one month ago. If short sellers attempt to cover their positions in light of today's news, it would take about two sessions to unwind, at EFUT's average daily trading volume.

TGT is up 1% in electronic trading after reporting a strong start to the Black Friday weekend. Target Corporation shares hit an annual low last week, as disappointing online sales growth overshadowed upwardly revised full-year guidance. Since then, the stock has been trending steadily higher, closing at $73.16 on Wednesday. Analysts and options traders are currently quite bearish on the stock. In particular, 11 out of 20 brokerages give TGT a "hold" rating or worse, while the stock's 50-day put/call volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sit at 0.94 -- higher than 85% of readings taken in the past year. Likewise, short interest on TGT grew nearly 27% during the past two reporting periods, and now represents seven days' of pent-up buying demand, at the stock's average pace of trading.