Buzz Stocks: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Corning Incorporated, and Sunedison Inc

Today's stocks to watch include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA), Corning Incorporated (GLW), and Sunedison Inc (SUNE)

Dec 11, 2015 at 9:49 AM

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U.S. stocks are in the red as this week's energy sell-off continues. Among the equities in focus are Internet interest Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), Gorilla glass manufacturer Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), and solar energy concern Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE).

BABA dropped 2.6% this morning to trade at $82.06, and is now in the red for the month. The company announced that is has agreed to acquire the South China Morning Post (SCMP), along with other media assets from Hong Kong's SCMP Group Limited. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will bring its digital expertise to the newspaper, which focuses on providing Chinese news in the English language. BABA also reported today that it will expand its online payment service to Europe, hoping to tap into the large number of Chinese tourists visiting the continent. The shares sit on a 21.1% year-to-date loss, but have been trying to claw their way back since plumbing record lows in late September. BABA has had a rocky year, but 16 out of 19 brokerages covering the stock currently maintain "buy" or better ratings.

GLW is trading 3.5% higher at $18.31, after the company announced that Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) will buy the remaining stake in Dow Corning Corporation -- a joint venture between the two companies -- on the heels of this week's major merger news from DOW and fellow chemical giant DuPont (NYSE:DD), which has now been made official. The transaction with Corning Incorporated is expected to close in the first half of next year. Despite GLW's struggles on the charts -- the stock has dropped 20% in 2015 -- its 10-day call/put volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) is 9.22. This ratio indicates that more than nine calls have been bought to open for each put over the past 10 trading days. What's more, this reading stands higher than 94% of comparable figures over the past year. Should GLW back down from familiar resistance at its 32-week moving average, an unwinding of bullish bets could exacerbate year-to-date losses.

SUNE is gaining more ground again today, last seen trading at $4.22, an increase of 3.2%. The company announced last night that it will sell 333 megawatts of wind-power assets to Terra Nova Renewable Partners in a $209 million deal. Terra Nova is a strategic equity partnership formed in September between Sunedison Inc and investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. SUNE has recently managed to put a pin in its severe second-half slump, and edged higher earlier this week after coming to an amended merger agreement with Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR). The shares still have a long way to go to erase their nearly 80% year-to-date loss, but options traders keep placing bullish bets. On the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 11.52 is just 2 percentage points from an annual high.

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