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Sports Spotlight: Proxy Fights, Virtual Coaches, and NFL Bidding Wars

Performance Sports Group Ltd (NYSE:PSG), Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA) are making noise in the sports world

Jan 8, 2016 at 2:07 PM
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It's wild-card weekend in the NFL (Who-Dey!), and it just so happens that a few companies are making sports-related headlines today -- but not all have been positive. Among the stocks in the news are equipment maker Performance Sports Group Ltd (NYSE:PSG), athletic apparel concern Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA), search giant Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and media issue Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA).

PSG is taking a hit today, with the shares down 6.2% at $8.18 -- and just off a record low of $8.04 -- after the company's ex-chairman reportedly called for the replacement of CEO Kevin Davis. It could be the start of a proxy battle for Performance Sports Group, sources told Bloomberg. The stock has been free-falling since its mid-May peak of $21.72, surrendering nearly one-third of its value since hitting resistance at its 10-week moving average.

UA is 2.3% lower at $76.22 -- which is nothing compared to the shares of beleaguered British firm Sports Direct, among the biggest FTSE 100 losers today. Under Armour Inc popped up at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week, unveiling high-tech items like the HealthBox and activity-tracking sneakers. Most notably, perhaps, UA said it's partnering with International Business Machines Corp.'s (NYSE:IBM) Watson to create a virtual coach.

UA has lost some steam since peaking at $105.89 in mid-September, but could find support in the $75 region. Notable put open interest is docked at the January 2016 75-strike put, second to only the deep out-of-the-money 55-strike put, which is home to peak front-month open interest of more than 12,100 contracts.

GOOGL's YouTube could soon be live-streaming the NFL's London games, according to Reuters. Sources said the league is in exclusive talks with Alphabet Inc and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), after partnering with Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) last year.

The shares of GOOGL are down 0.6% at $736.53, and after this week's broad-market bloodbath, are poised to end beneath their 10-week trendline for the first time since late September. However, the security could find an ally in its ascending 20-week moving average, currently approaching  the $720 range.

FOXA is up 0.8% at $26.09, as a spokesperson allegedly called rumors of a $105-per-share bid for Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) -- the target of much speculation today -- "totally false." Just yesterday, it was reported that FOXA is making a "stiff" bid to pounce on the NFL's Thursday night games, the rights to which are currently held by CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS).

The past few months have been a roller coaster for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. The shares succumbed to sector woes in early August, subsequently hitting a two-year low of $22.81 later in the month. Since then, the equity has bounced between support in the $25-$26 region and resistance in the $30-$31 area, home to its 32-week moving average.
 

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