Twitter's new CFO will take the reins in August
U.S. stocks are higher this morning, as markets prepare for Fed Chair Janet Yellen's remarks. Among specific stocks on the move today are biotech Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL), social media specialist Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), and FAANG member Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Here's a quick look at what's moving shares of OCUL, TWTR, and AMZN.
FDA Drug Rejection Hammers OCUL Stock
Ocular Therapeutix is reeling today, down 24.8% to trade at $5.72, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected the company's eye-pain drug. The news is a blow to OCUL, which rallied yesterday amid renewed optimism over DEXTENZA. With today's early move below the $6 level, Ocular shares are now trading at new year-to-date lows.
Options traders have been favoring OCUL puts, according to data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). OCUL has a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 0.65, which ranks in the 99th percentile of its annual range. This indicates puts have been purchased at a near annual-high clip, relative to calls.
Twitter Rallies After Naming New CFO
Twitter is up 3.7% to trade at $19.33, after the social media company named Ned Segal -- formerly of Intuit and Goldman Sachs -- its new chief financial officer (CFO). Segal will take over the role in late August, and is entitled to a sign-on bonus of $300,000 in addition to his annual salary of $500,000.
TWTR is now on track for another challenge of the looming $19.50 area, which marked its 2017 high back in mid-May. Analysts are skeptical of the stock's prospects, to say the least. Of the 23 brokerages covering TWTR shares, 22 rate it a "hold" or worse.
Historic Prime Day Numbers Put Amazon Stock In Focus
Amazon stock is up 0.7% at $1,001.97, after Tuesday's Prime Day was confirmed as the biggest shopping event in the company's history -- led by sales of Amazon's own Echo Dot. It's been a year to toast for AMZN stock, which is up 33.6% year-to-date, settled above the $1,000 level on June 2, and shot to an all-time intraday high of $1,017 on June 19.
Traders looking to speculate on Amazon's next short-term move via options can do so at attractive prices right now. This is according to AMZN's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 20%, which stands higher than just 24% of all other readings from the past year. This indicates the stock's near-term options are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations.