Buzz Stocks: Medivation Inc, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc, and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Today's stocks to watch in the news include Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)

Karee Venema

Aug 22, 2016 at 9:51 AM

ZTS
PFE
AMD
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MDVN

U.S. stocks are in the red this morning, after another Fed official took a relatively hawkish tone toward interest rates. Meanwhile, among specific equities in focus are biotechs Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), as well as tech stock Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD).

MDVN is up 19.8% at the open at $80.49 -- and fresh off a record high of $80.67, on news Dow component Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has agreed to buy the firm in a deal valued at $14 billion, or $81.50 per MDVN share -- exceeding fellow suitor Sanofi SA's (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) previous bid. Heading into today's trading, shares of Medivation Inc were already up 39% year-to-date, and both analysts and options traders have waxed optimistic. In fact, MDVN's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.37 ranks lower than 98% of all comparable readings taken in the past year, meaning short-terms speculators have rarely been as call-skewed as they are now.

Shares of VRX are up 5.4% at $30.28 after the drugmaker said it has hired former Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) exec Paul Herendeen on as chief financial officer. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc recently announced its intentions to reorganize, and while the efforts have done little to impress analysts, the stock is up 63% from its late-June six-year low at $18.55. Options traders, meanwhile, have been initiating long calls over puts at an accelerated clip in recent months. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.82 ranks in the 74th annual percentile.

AMD said it will relocate its headquarters to Santa Clara, California, after 47 years in Sunnyvale. At last check, the shares have jumped 1.7% to trade at $7.76 -- within a chip-shot of taking out last Friday's four-year high of $8.00 -- bringing their year-to-date advance to 170%. While options traders have remained optimistic, analysts have been slow to climb on board Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.'s bullish bandwagon. Of the 17 brokerages covering the stock, 10 maintain a "hold" or worse suggestion.

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