While the Dow is eyeing a weekly loss amid murky U.S.-China trade sentiment, two stocks are bucking the broad-market trend following impressive earnings reports are software concern Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) and retailer Hibbett Sports, Inc (NASDAQ:HIBB). Below we'll look into how SPLK and HIBB are faring today.
SPLK Gets Bombarded With Bull Notes
The shares of SPLK are trading just below their new four-month high, notched earlier today, are on pace for their biggest percentage gain in over 15 months, and are pacing for their sixth straight win after the company reported a third-quarter loss of 38 cents per share, and revenue of $626 million per share, both of which exceeded analysts estimates.
The firm also lifted its full-year sales forecast, leading at least 10 members of the brokerage bunch to lift their price targets, including SunTrust Robinson which lifted its estimate to a Street high of $175 from $160. While those in coverage have held their ratings steady, sentiment surrounding the marketing software name is already quite bullish, with 24 of the 27 analysts calling it a "buy" or better. At last check, SPLK is up 10.7% to trade at $140.28.
Options Bulls Latch on to HIBB Stock After Hitting Fresh Highs
While analyst attention has been scarce following Hibbett's third-quarter report, which featured an earnings and sales beat, as well as a hiked full-year forecast, options traders have been piling on the sports apparel retailer today. So far, 1,000 calls and 630 puts have crossed the tape -- five times the average intraday. During the past 10 days at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call and put buying was basically even, but overall open interest remains at relatively low levels.