Today's stocks to watch in the news include AAPL, REPH, and TIME
U.S. stocks are down, even as oil prices move higher. Among specific equities in focus today are tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), biotech Recro Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:REPH), and media stock Time Inc (NYSE:TIME). Here's a quick look at what's driving AAPL, REPH, and TIME.
- AAPL is up 0.1% at $111.92, after The Wall Street Journal said the release of an iPhone featuring a curved glass screen could come as soon as next year (subscription required), based on Apple Inc.'s product requests to screen suppliers. AAPL shares are down more than 5.7% since tapping a 2016 high of $118.69 in October, and are struggling against resistance in the $111-$112 range -- about a 50% retracement of their post-earnings drop. AAPL's 50-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits at 1.67, in the 82nd percentile of its annual range. An unraveling of these bullish bets could serve to pressure AAPL lower.
- REPH is up 20.6% at $9.36, after being halted in electronic trading, on positive data for its pain medication IV meloxicam, which achieved its primary endpoint and 10 secondary endpoints in Phase 3 trials. Recro Pharma Inc said it plans to file a U.S. New Drug Application (NDA) for meloxicam in 2017. REPH now sits up by more than 65% since its March lows, and is on pace to eclipse its 320-day moving average for the first time since September. REPH's short interest fell by more than 30% over the last two reporting periods, with shorted shares now accounting for just 1.3% of REPH's float, suggesting there may not be much sideline cash available to fuel an extended rally.
- TIME is trading 17% higher at $15.93, after reportedly rejecting a $1.8 billion buyout bid from billionaire Edward Bronfman Jr. Time Inc shares are now in the black for 2016, and on pace to close above their 320-day moving average for the first time since August 2015. Short sellers may be sweating today, with short interest up 11.7% in the last reporting period, now accounting for 6.1% of TIME's float -- an amount that would take nearly two weeks to cover, at TIME's average daily volume.
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