Today's stocks to watch include Yelp Inc (YELP), Sprint Corp (S), and Biogen Inc (BIIB)
U.S. stocks are lower as a result of weak manufacturing data from China and sliding oil prices. Among equities in focus today are business review website Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), wireless communications stock Sprint Corp (NYSE:S), and biopharmaceutical company Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB).
- YELP is up 2.3% at $22.00, on news that David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital purchased a stake in the company. Although Yelp Inc has been stair-stepping lower since September 2014, Einhorn believes the company could double its revenue by 2019, dismissed concerns about "an upcoming negative documentary," and said "a bidding war could emerge," should the YELP board put up the for-sale sign. YELP shares have bounced back more than 50% since hitting a near three-year low of $14.53 in February, but remain more than 20% lower year-to-date. Short interest in Yelp Inc fell over the last two reporting periods, but 15% of the stock's available float is still sold short, which would take 6.3 days of trading to cover, at YELP's normal daily volume.
- S is trading at $3.61, a 3.2% bump, as a vow to cut more than $2 billion in costs overshadows a steeper-than-expected per-share earnings loss. Sprint Corp has been clawing its way back since hitting its all-time low in January, but struggled to overtake its 200-day moving average. Currently, 30.8% of Sprint Corp's available float is short sold, which would take 9.1 days, or nearly two weeks, to cover, at Sprint's average daily trading levels. Analysts haven't demonstrated much faith in the stock's recovery, with 16 of 18 rating the stock a "hold" or worse.
- BIIB is up 0.4% at $274.87, following an announcement that it plans to spin off its hemophilia business into its own publicly traded company. The stock has struggled since hitting an all-time high in March 2015, but seems to have found an ally in its 50-month moving average. Analysts remain optimistic, with 12 of 18 rating Biogen Inc a "buy" or better, and without a single "sell" in sight. Short interest is also down 26.3% over the last two reporting periods, and now accounts for less than 1% of the stock's float.
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