Weight Watchers Rival Surges; PIXY Stock Jumps On Blockchain Buzz

PTCT shares have nearly tripled over the past year

Josh Selway

Mar 7, 2018 at 3:06 PM

The U.S. stock market remains under pressure as trade war fears abound. Among the individual stocks making notable moves are healthy living enthusiast Medifast Inc (NYSE:MED), workforce management solutions provider ShiftPixy Inc (NASDAQ:PIXY), and biotech stock PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT). Here's what's moving shares of MED, PIXY, and PTCT.

MED Stock Brings YoY Lead North of 100%

Medifast stock is trading up 34.2% at $90.60, putting it on pace for its best single-day performance in at least 10 years, after the company's blowout fourth-quarter earnings results. In fact, MED shares hit a record high of $92.91, having now doubled in value over the past year -- echoing the technical success of sector peer Weight Watchers (WTW). There are only three brokerage firms covering the equity, too, so there's plenty of room for fresh bullish coverage to drive Medifast even higher.

Blockchain Announcement Boosts PIXY Shares

ShiftPixy announced it will start using blockchain technology for its human capital transactions, with the company also making it clear it has no interest in using the technology for cryptocurrencies. PIXY shares have surged 52% as a result to trade at $3.94, but topped out right below the $4 mark -- two times their annual low from December. The company came public this past June, with the shares trading as high as $11.64 back on July 10. There are currently no analysts covering the stock.

Ataluren Sales Impress, Sending PTCT Stock Soaring

Better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue has shares of PTC Therapeutics up 8% at $29. Sales of Ataluren, the company's lead drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, increased by 63% for the period. The stock earlier touched a two-year high of $31.25 and is up almost 200% in the past 12 months. Analysts continue to underestimate PTCT stock, however, with just one of 5 deeming it a "buy." In fact, this morning's price-target hikes from RBC ($31) and Barclays ($24) still don't show much faith in the shares. If the equity keeps pushing higher, it could benefit from bull notes.

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