U.S. stocks are mixed this afternoon, with the Dow outperforming its fellow equity indexes after this morning's inflation data.Among the names in the spotlight today are aerospace concern (and Dow stock) Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), Chinese online retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), and credit bureau TransUnion (NYSE:TRU). Here's a quick look at what is moving shares of BA, BABA, and TRU.
Boeing has received two bullish analyst notes following Wednesday night's news of a $600 milliondefense contract for Air Force One aircraft from the Pentagon. Deutsche Bank raised its target to $300 from $280, while Berenberg lifted its target to $282 from $245. BA is up 1.3% at $245.15, not far from July's record high of$246.46.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), BA sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.58, which ranks in the 95th percentile ofits annual range. This suggests calls have been bought to open at an extremely fast clip relative to puts in recent weeks.
BABA stock has been on an impressive uptrend this year -- even reaching a record high of $179.93 earlier today -- but was last seen trading 1.1% lower at $176.94 after regulatory filings revealed that founder Jack Ma and Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai will sell up to 21.5 million shares beginning in October. Despite today's dip, the China-based stock boasts an impressive 101% year-to-date gain, and is a must-buy among analysts -- all 19 brokerage firms following Alibaba have "buy" or "strong buy" recommendations.
TRU stock is down 0.2% to trade at $43.59, paring the bulk of its intraday sympathy losses with embattled sector peer Equifax (EFX).Shares of the credit bureau reached a record high of $49.46 as recently as Sept. 7, but have since plunged below key support at their 40-day and 80-day moving averages.
While TransUnion doesn't yet have a sizable following among options traders, those who are speculating on the stock's next move appear to be bracing for more downside. TRU's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.45 ranks in the 85th annual percentile, suggesting near-term options traders have rarely been more put-heavy.