Today's stocks to watch in the news include Twitter Inc (TWTR), Mylan NV (MYL), and Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)
U.S. stocks are trading higher, after last night's presidential debate. Among specific equities on focus today are social media concern Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), as well as biotech stocks Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK).
- TWTR is down 13.5% at $17.17, as reports continue to swirl that bidding interest on the social media stock has evaporated. Rumors that several big-name suitors -- including Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) -- were no longer interested in the microblogging site first began circulating last Friday, sending the shares of TWTR spiraling. Plus, today's move means TWTR has given up all of its buyout-related gains, and has the stock back below its formerly supportive 200-day moving average. In the option pits, speculators have been initiating long puts relative to calls at a faster-than-usual clip. Twitter Inc's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.47 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits higher than 87% of all other readings taken in the last 12 months.
- MYL is up 9.2% at $39.25, after the company agreed to pay a $465 million settlement with the Department of Justice (DoJ), for allegedly misclassifying its EpiPen product in order to overcharge Medicaid for the drug, although the biotech still admits no fault. Additionally, MYL lowered its 2016 profit forecast, but affirmed its 2018 guidance. Meanwhile, although the stock received price-target cuts from UBS and Susquehanna, Raymond James raised its rating to "strong buy" from "market perform." Mylan NV has been under fire for its EpiPen pricing of late, with the controversy dragging MYL's shares shedding nearly 30% from their mid-August highs near $50 through last Friday's close. However, Mylan NV's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) closed last week at 22 -- in "oversold" territory -- suggesting a short-term bounce may have already been in the cards.
- MRK is currently trading 32.2% higher at $64.10 – a fresh 14-year high -- following news the biotech's Keytruda immunotherapy has shown benefits to lung cancer patients in clinical trials, with Keytruda cutting overall deaths by 40% compared to just chemotherapy. Rival Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's (NYSE:BMY) similar drug, Opdivo, recently failed in an advanced trial. Merck & Co., Inc. is up 26% year-over-year, with the shares ushered higher by their 50-day moving average since February. While six of 13 analysts rate MRK a "strong buy," the remaining seven sit at a tepid "hold." If today's news inspires a round of upgrades, the bullish analyst attention could create a tailwind to further propel MRK shares higher.
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