Today's stocks to watch in the news include Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARIA), Tiffany & Co. (TIF), and TiVo Corp (TIVO)
U.S. stock futures are signaling a solid start, following an upbeat gross domestic product (GDP) reading. Among specific equities in focus today are drugmaker Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA), jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF), and video tech stock TiVo Corp (NASDAQ:TIVO). Here's a quick look at what's driving ARIA, TIF, and TIVO.
- ARIA shares have caught fire in pre-market trading, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced full approval and a label update for the company's leukemia treatment Iclusig. Specifically, the pharmaceutical stock is 3.3% higher after settling yesterday at $13.69 -- on a 57% month-to-date gain -- and could make a run at a fresh three-year high today. With Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. breaking out of late, short sellers may find themselves increasingly under water. Nearly 23% of the stock's float is sold short, which translates into roughly four days' worth of pent-up buying power, at ARIA's average rate of trading.
- TIF is pointed 5.8% higher ahead of the open, after the company topped the Street's consensus earnings estimate and posted its first sales increase in eight quarters. After ending yesterday at $78.14, the stock is set to touch an annual high out of the gate, assuming its pre-market gains materialize. This should come as a boon to short-term options traders, who have been quite call-tilted. Tiffany & Co. sports a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.88, which ranks in the low 12th percentile of its 12-month range.
- TIVO's licensing agreement with Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has shares of the former nearly 6.8% higher in electronic trading. Already, it's been a great year for TiVo Corp stock, which has tacked on nearly 25% to trade at $20.75. Not surprisingly, option buyers have been targeting calls over puts. TIVO sports a 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 6.11, outstripping 69% of all readings from the prior year.
Stay on top of overnight news & big morning movers. Sign up now for Schaeffer's Opening View.