PINS stock began trading on the Big Board earlier today
Blue chips are outperforming on the final trading day of the week, thanks to positive earnings reactions for American Express (AXP) and Travelers Companies (TRV). Among other names making notable moves are social media stock Pinterest Inc (NYSE:PINS), rare genetic disease specialist Mustang Bio Inc (NASDAQ:MBIO), and cannabis issue Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC). Here's a quick look at what's moving the shares of PINS, MBIO, and CGC.
Pinterest is Trading Well Above Its IPO Price
Pinterest priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $19 per share last night, higher than the expected $15-$17 per-share range. PINS stock opened on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at $23.75 shortly before 11:30 a.m. ET -- pushing the company's market cap north of $12 billion -- and topped out at an intraday peak of $24.99 around lunchtime. Pinterest shares were last seen up 27.4% at $24.20.
Mustang Bio Stock Crushes Shorts
Mustang Bio stock jumped 283% out of the gate -- coming within a chip-shot of taking out their annual high of $10.24 from last April -- last seen up 127.4% at $6.05. The stock is reacting to a New England Journal of Medicine publication featuring positive data from a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital study that used MBIO's lentiviral gene therapy to treat infants diagnosed with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1), or "bubble boy disease." Mustang Bio also has a licensing agreement with St. Jude to develop the therapy for commercial use.
Short sellers may be fueling some of today's upside. Although short interest fell 11.3% in the most recent reporting period, it would take bears more than 11 days to cover the 450,000 MBIO shares still sold short, at the average pace of trading.
Canopy Growth Eyes U.S. Cannabis Market
The shares of Canopy Growth have shot up 4.1% to trade at $44.61, after the Canadian cannabis company said it has secured the right to buy U.S.-based pot firm Acreage Holdings once U.S. legalizes the sale and production of marijuana. Currently, 10 states and the District of Columbia allow for recreational pot use, while 23 states have legalized medical marijuana.
Today's surge caps off a strong week for CGC shares, with the weed stock poised for a third straight daily win and its best weekly performance since late January. Longer term, Canopy Growth is up 65.80% year-to-date. Options traders are rushing to get in on the action, too, with roughly 116,000 contracts on the tape so far today -- three times what's typically seen. Speculators may be buying to open the May 50 call, betting on a breakout above the half-century mark by mid-May.