Western Digital posted a rare miss in quarterly revenue
Stocks are trading lower today to put the S&P 500 Index into correction territory. Looking at individual names to watch, digital memory expert Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC), former Dow component General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), and drugmaker Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SNDX) are all making notable moves. Below is a breakdown for shares of WDC, GE, and SNDX.
WDC at Fresh Lows After Revenue Whiff
WDC joined today's group of stocks at new lows after earnings, earlier hitting a two-year bottom of $42. At last check, the shares were trading down 17.9% at $44.35 -- on pace for their worst session since 2002 -- with traders responding to a rare revenue miss from the company. A handful of bearish analyst notes have followed, including downgrades to "hold" out of Craig-Hallum, Benchmark, and J.P. Morgan Securities. Today's losses put Western Digital on the short-sale restricted (SSR) list, and its year-to-date losses at 43%
It would seem many were expecting a pullback from the security, given recent activity at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Options traders were buying puts at an accelerated rate across the exchanges, according to the 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.13. This ranks in the 93rd annual percentile, showing such demand for long puts is not often seen.
Analyst Note Pressures GE to Another Low
General Electric stock hit another nine-year low earlier of $11.18, after a warning out of a Gordon Haskett analyst that the company could end up owing billions more for its insurance reserves than what most are expecting. The brokerage firm reiterated its "underweight" recommendation and $11 price target, and GE shares were last seen down 3.8% at $11.35, putting their 12-month skid at 46.7%.
The company is scheduled to report earnings before the open next Tuesday, Oct. 30, and put buying has picked up ahead of the results. The equity's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX stands at 0.91 and ranks in the 97th annual percentile.
SNDX Sinks on Cancer Drug Update
Closing out with SNDX stock, the shares have shed 15.6% today to trade at $5.10, on news the company's breast cancer drug missed its goals in a late-stage study. The equity earlier touched a record low of $4.50, and the healthcare concern is one of the biggest losers on the Nasdaq today. The stock's down substantially since peaking above $15 back in April, with the 200-day moving average quickly putting an end to a breakout attempt earlier this month.
Analysts are already bullish on the drugmaker, which sports five "strong buy" recommendations, though H.C. Wainwright lowered its price target to $23 from $30 this morning. Elsewhere, short sellers hold almost 7% of the equity's float, but today's pullback has the security on the SSR.