Walmart plans to hike the buying age for tobacco sales to 21
Stocks have made an unexpected turnaround this afternoon, following confirmation out of the White House that China is ready to make a trade deal. Also making moves this afternoon are Cincinnati-based Workhorse Group Inc (NASDAQ:WKHS), tobacco name Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM), and biopharma Protagonist Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PTGX). Below, we will dive into what is moving the shares of WKHS, PM, and PTGX.
Workhorse Stock Surges on GM Announcement
Workhorse shares are surging this afternoon, the penny stock last seen up 134%, at $1.97. The lift comes just after President Donald Trump announced General Motors (GM) will be selling its Lordstown, Ohio, manufacturing shop to Workhorse. Upon approval from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, GM will sell the factory and invest $700 million in three other Ohio locations. WKHS is now just shy of a 150% year-to-date lead. Meanwhile, the lone analyst covering Workhorse stock carries a "buy" recommendation.
Philip Morris Sinks as Walmart Raises Minimum Age
Cigarette giant Philip Morris is moving lower, down 0.5%, at $83.94, after Walmart (WMT) said it plans to raise the minimum age on tobacco sales to 21 with intent to curb the number of sales made to minors. In recent weeks PM has done little on the charts, testing support atop the 200-day moving average.
Coming into today options traders were optimistic, with data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) showing PM with a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.99, in the 75th percentile of its annual range. In other terms, calls have been bought over puts at a faster-than-usual clip during the past two weeks.
PTGX Lands $25 Milestone Payment
Protagonist Therapeutics is near the top of the Nasdaq today, after the biopharma received a $25 million payment advance from Janssen as part of their collaboration for PTG-200. At last check, PTGX is trading up 12.7% at $10.12.
The security has had a decent year, up 51% year-to-date, and is just over a month off its March 25 annual peak of $14.36. Plus, four of the five analysts following Protagonist Therapeutics stock sport "buy" or better recommendations.