Today's stocks to watch in the news include J C Penney Company Inc (JCP), PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTCT), and Visa Inc (V)
Stocks are set to cool off this morning, with a pullback in crude oil prices weighing on futures ahead of the bell. Among specific equities in focus today are department store J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP), drug stock PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT), and credit card concern Visa Inc (NYSE:V). Here's a quick look at what's driving JCP, PTCT, and V.
- Unlike these sector peers, JCP doesn't look like it will experience a positive post-earnings reaction. The retail stock is pointed 6.7% lower pre-market, as the company posted a surprise drop in same-store sales and weaker-than-expected revenue. Longer term, J C Penney Company Inc has been struggling since its most recent high at $11.30, down 22% at $8.81. It's no wonder over one-quarter of the stock's float is sold short, which -- at JCP's average daily volume -- would take roughly a week to buy back.
- PTCT is poised for an 85% upside explosion at the open, after a European Medicines Agency committee recommended renewing the conditional marketing authorization of Translarna, as a treatment for certain types of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A bull gap would be a welcome sight for PTC Therapeutics, Inc. shareholders, who watched the stock drop to a record low of $4.03 on Nov. 3, before settling yesterday at $6. Plenty of option bulls should be happy, too. During the past 10 weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have bought to open 11.71 PTCT calls for every put -- a ratio ranking just 7 percentage points from an annual high.
- According to a regulatory filing, Daniel Loeb's Third Point took a 2.1 million class A share-stake in V. While the stock has barely budged pre-market, it's delivered a solid if unspectacular 5.6% year-to-date return at $81.87, and yesterday touched a record peak of $83.96. Not surprisingly, analysts are largely bullish toward Visa Inc. Three-quarters of brokerage firms tracking the stock rate it a "buy" or better, while the remaining analysts consider it a "hold" -- with not one "sell" opinion to be found.
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