BBRY, FIT, and FAST are among the stocks in the news today
Stocks have edged lower in early trading, ahead of a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Among specific equities in focus today are smartphone maker
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), wearable tech name
Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), and industrial machinery specialist
Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST). Here's a quick roundup of the news moving shares of BBRY, FIT, and FAST.
BlackBerry Stock Hits New High After Qualcomm Settlement
BBRY stock,
which was halted in electronic trading, has surged 18% out of the gate to trade at $9.10 -- a fresh annual high -- after the company was awarded $815 million from QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) in an arbitration settlement over royalties. The figure is an estimate, and will be finalized after a hearing on Tuesday, May 30. What's more, Canaccord Genuity increased its price target on BBRY to $9.50 from $8.00, saying the settlement will "bolster BlackBerry's balance sheet and increase the likelihood of acquisitions to augment growth." BlackBerry Ltd shares are now up 29% year-to-date, and short sellers could start hitting the bricks. Short interest rose 11.3% in the most recent reporting period, and now accounts for a healthy 10.2% of BBRY's float -- or 13.3 times the stock's average pace of trading.
Smartwatch Delay, Heart Rate Report Weigh on Fitbit Stock
Shares of FIT are down 0.7% at $5.54, amid reports
Fitbit Inc has delayed the launch of its premier smartwatch until the fall. Additionally, a new study has shown wearable
fitness trackers are not accurately measuring the user's heart rate. It's been a tough run for FIT stock, which has surrendered nearly two-thirds of its value over the past 12 months, and bottomed at a record low of $5.31 in late March. Short-term options traders are less call-skewed than usual, too, per FIT's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.94 -- in the 80th annual percentile.
Fastenal Stock Feels the Heat from a Negative Earnings Reaction
FAST stock is trading down 5.5% at $47.56, as Wall Street takes a glass-half-empty approach to Fastenal Company's in-line first-quarter earnings report. Nevertheless, the stock remains a long-term outperformer, and was up roughly 26% on a six-month basis heading into today's trading. Plus, this post-earnings decline could find a foothold near $48, which is home to FAST's rising 120-day moving average.
Options traders are certainly hoping for a quick rebound, too. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), FAST stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.02 ranks just 8 percentage points from a 52-week peak. In other words, calls have been bought to open over puts at a near-annual-high clip.