Buzz Stocks: Amazon.com, Inc., BHP Billiton Limited (ADR), and Tribune Publishing Co

Today's stocks to watch include Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), BHP Billiton Limited (ADR) (BHP), and Tribune Publishing Co (TPUB)

Nov 30, 2015 at 9:28 AM

U.S. indexes are pointed higher this morning, as traders brace for a busy week of data and Fed talk. Among the equities in focus are e-tail giant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), mining interest BHP Billiton Limited (ADR) (NYSE:BHP), and media concern Tribune Publishing Co (NYSE:TPUB).

AMZN is pointed 0.3% higher in pre-market trading, amid Cyber Monday optimism and thanks to the release of a video over the weekend that reveals some exciting news: the drones are ready. Amazon.com, Inc. has been testing drones for delivery over the past several months, and now it seems the only thing standing between consumers and 30-minute delivery by unmanned drones is regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. AMZN has been a marvel on the charts this year, more than doubling in value, and today's Cyber Monday deals should continue to keep holiday shoppers busy on the site. And analysts don't expect the online retailer's momentum to slow down anytime soon -- 23 out of 28 firms currently give the stock a "buy" rating or better. On Friday, AMZN settled at $673.26.

Legal woes have BHP set to drop 3.7% ahead of the open this morning, on the news that Brazil's federal and state governments plan to sue the owners of Samarco, a joint venture between BHP Billiton Limited (ADR) and Vale SA (ADR) (NYSE:VALE). BHP is the world's largest mining company, while Vale is the largest iron ore miner. Earlier this month, a dam at the mine burst, killing at least 13 people and causing major pollution. BHP has been stair-stepping lower since mid-2014, and on Friday hit a six-year low of $26.40, before settling at $26.98. Still, options traders have been bullish recently; BHP's 10-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits at 2.24 -- higher than 68% of readings from the past year.

TPUB is prepared to pop 1.2%, after News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) co-chairman Rupert Murdoch on Friday tweeted hints of a possible sale of TPUB to a Wall Street firm. Tribune Publishing Co denied the truth of these claims this morning, making a statement to its employees that there are no current plans to sell. The publisher has lost nearly 60% of its value so far this year, ending Friday at $9.29, but near-term option traders are more call-heavy than usual. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.40 is higher than only 38% of readings from the last 52 weeks, indicating a healthier than usual appetite for calls over puts.

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