Today's stocks to watch in the news include Twitter Inc (TWTR), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), and JD.Com Inc (ADR) (JD)
U.S. stocks are lower this morning, as the latest economic data fuels fresh rate-hike chatter. Among specific equities in focus today are social media concern Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), retail giant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), and e-commerce stock JD.Com Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:JD).
- TWTR is down a whopping 17.1% at $20.64 -- giving up nearly all of its gains since buyout rumors first emerged -- following reports that two of its largest potential buyers are no longer in the running: Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and reports say an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) bid is unlikely as well. This puts salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) at the top of the list of rumored suitors, although CRM's largest shareholder isn't too keen on the idea. In the option pits, bulls may be kicking rocks on this latest news, with Twitter Inc's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.49 sitting in just the 23rd percentile of its annual range, indicating near-term option players have been call-skewed as of late.
- WMT is down 3.6% at $69.03, after reiterating its 2017 fiscal-year guidance. The retail chain giant said it expects earnings to come in relatively flat, and said it will open fewer stores than originally planned, as the company switches to focus on investing in technology and e-commerce. Prior to today -- which has WMT nearing five-month lows -- the shares were encountering resistance near the $73 level, contained by WMT's 50-day moving average. Sentiment among the brokerage bunch is mixed; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. currently has seven "strong buy" ratings, as well as eight lukewarm "holds," leaving plenty of room for a slew of downgrades to propel the shares even lower.
- Speaking of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., JD is trading up 0.2% at $27.98, after news that WMT has nearly doubled its stake in the Chinese e-commerce stock, and now currently owns over 9% of JD's outstanding shares, valued at $7.8 billion. JD has recovered nearly 50% since hitting an all-time low of $19.51 in June, and last month topped its 10-month moving average for the first time in 2016. Short sellers may not be celebrating this latest announcement -- with short interest up 13.8% over the last two reporting periods, shorted shares now account for 8.6% of JD's float, which would take over a week of trading to cover, at JD.com Inc (ADR)'s average daily volume.
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