Plus, Disney will take full control of Hulu
Stocks are moving sharply higher this afternoon, attempting a rebound while keeping an eye on the latest tweets from President Donald Trump. Three names maintaining investor focus today are drug concern Solid Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:SLDB), blue chip Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), and clothing giant G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIII). Below, we will dive into what is moving the shares of SLDB, DIS, and GIII.
SLDB Tanks to Record Low on Quarterly Miss, Drug Data
SLDB has plummeted 29% to trade at $6.27 -- earlier hitting a record low of $5.23 -- and is near the bottom of the Nasdaq, after reporting safety issues in an early trial for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) treatment. Also pressuring the shares is the company's steeper-than-expected first-quarter loss, as well as a downgrade to "underperform" from "neutral" at Credit Suisse, which also trimmed its price target by $1 to $6.
SLDB began publicly trading in late February 2018, and although it touched an all-time peak of $54.84 June 19, the stock has since given back 89%. More recently, the shares struggled after a massive bear gap in February 2019, with the round-number $10 level emerging as resistance.
Short interest surged 29.5% during the past two reporting periods, and now accounts for over 31% of the stock's total available float. At SLDB's average pace of daily trading, it would take shorts more than 10 days to buy back any bearish bets. Today, however, the shares are on the short-sale restricted (SSR) list.
Disney Stock Surges on Hulu Deal
Shares of DIS are higher on the back of news that the company will take control of popular streaming service Hulu, after signing an agreement with Comcast (CMCSA). DIS is now up nearly 23% year-to-date, and at last check was trading up 2.3% at $134.41. The shares gapped higher in mid-April, and subsequently notched a record high of $142.17 on April 29, before taking a breather atop support in the $132 area.
Looking toward options, DIS seems to be a favorite of call traders. This is per the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.27 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which ranks in the 90th annual percentile. In other words, calls have been bought to open over puts at a faster-than-usual clip in the past two weeks.
Analysts: Tariffs Could Hurt G-III Stock
GIII stock is down 5% at $32.34, following negative analyst attention out of Piper Jaffray and Cowen & Co. Specifically, Piper downgraded the retailer to "neutral" from "overweight," and slashed its price target to $35 from $43, while Cowen cut its target to $45 from $53. Both brokerage firms warned that tariffs on Chinese imports could hurt the apparel name, due to its China exposure.
GIII stock hasn't ended a session higher since May 3. The equity fell 9.4% yesterday, and is pacing for its worst week since early December. Further, the security's 50-day and 200-day moving averages recently made a "death cross," often seen as a precursor to negative price action.
Overall analyst sentiment was optimistic as of last night's close, with eight of the nine covering firms sporting "buy" or "strong buy" recommendations on the stock. Further, the stock's average 12-month price target stands at $47.22, representing 46% upside from current levels.