Today's stocks to watch in the news include Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), Apple Inc. (AAPL), and Jabil Circuit, Inc. (JBL)
Dow futures are higher again this morning, as traders continue to cheer Wednesday's Fed decision. Among specific equities in focus today are internet stock Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), tech titan Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and AAPL supplier Jabil Circuit, Inc. (NYSE:JBL).
- YHOO is down 0.2% ahead of the bell on news the company is expected to announce a data breach that exposed the accounts of hundreds of millions of users. Shares of Yahoo! Inc. have been rallying since February, bringing their year-to-date lead to nearly 33%, as of last night's close at $44.14. But the stock topped out just below the $45 level -- also home to its mid-2015 highs -- earlier this month. Meanwhile, options traders have been betting on further gains for YHOO, with the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 6.79 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranking higher than 91% of the past year's readings.
- AAPL is following the broad market higher, up 0.4% in electronic trading after finishing Wednesday at $113.55, as investors digest a mixed bag of news. For one, the Wall Street Journal reported Apple Inc. is looking into opening a retail location in South Korea (subscription required) -- home to rival Samsung. In fact, AAPL allegedly even looked at a location across the street from the Galaxy maker's headquarters. Elsewhere, the stock received price-target hikes from RBC and Nomura -- to $125 and $135, respectively. But an analyst at Wells Fargo expressed concerns that AAPL's iPhone 8 cycle may not live up to expectations, predicting headwinds in 2017. While weekly options bets spiked earlier this week, other near-term options buyers could be getting a bargain at the moment. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 19% is seated in the low 10th percentile of its annual range, suggesting premium should be well priced, from a volatility standpoint.
- JBL is bucking this morning's upbeat trend, dropping 6.5% ahead of the open, after the company reported a 50% year-over-year drop in profit. The news was met with a downgrade to "hold" from "buy" at Needham, though RBC and Deutsche Bank increased their respective price targets on Jabil Circuit, Inc. to $23 and $20. Should the downward price action hold at the bell, JBL will find itself back in negative year-to-date territory, after rallying an impressive 14% in just over a week to close Wednesday at $23.73. That may suit short sellers just fine, however. These bearish bets have climbed by nearly 30% during the last two reporting periods, and now represent more than six sessions' worth of trading, at JBL's typical daily pace.
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