Stocks are trading mixed this afternoon, despite a robust start to the holiday shopping season for many retailers. Among the names making big movesare e-commerce platform Square Inc (NYSE:SQ), cybersecurity company Barracuda Networks Inc (NYSE:CUDA), and drug concern Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INO). Here's a quick look at what's moving shares of SQ, CUDA, and INO.
Shares of SQ have gapped lower, down 11.3% at $43.36, after the tech stock was downgraded by BTIG to "sell" from "neutral," with the brokerage firm calling the stock's recent bitcoin rally overdone. Square stock is now on track to snap an epic winning streak, with the shares having notched new record highs in each of the last 11 sessions -- but the equity remains several points north of support at its 20-day moving average.
Meanwhile, puts have been gaining traction among more typically call-skewed SQ options traders. Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows SQ with a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.32, in the 76th percentile of its annual range. This suggests speculative players have been buying to open SQ puts at a faster-than-usual pace in recent weeks, relative to calls.
It's another big price swing for CUDA today, after the company agreed to be acquired and taken private by Thoma Bravo for $1.6 billion in cash, or $27.55 per share. After setting a new two-year high of $27.67 out of the gate, CUDA is now trading up 16.5%at $27.58.
Despite the choppy price action this year, most analysts were upbeat on Barracuda stock ahead of today's news. Of the 14 analysts following CUDA, 10 carry "buy" or "strong buy" recommendations.
Shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals were briefly higher after the company reported positive data from a pre-clinical trial of its cancer immunotherapy combined with a checkpoint inhibitor. The stock was up more than 8% earlier, but has reversed after an unsuccessful test of resistance at its descending 20-day moving average. INO is trading down 0.4% at $4.57 at last check.With 12.5% of INO's float sold short -- representing 8.4 times the stock's average daily trading volume -- it looks like the bears are firmly in control of the shares for now.