U.S. stocks are sluggish today, amid escalating geopolitcal uncertainty. Among specific stocks on the move this morning are apparel manufacturer G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIII), biopharmaceutical name Acorda Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACOR), and solar company JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JASO). Here's a quick look at what's moving shares of GIII, ACOR, and JASO.
GIII stock has shot up the charts today, last seen trading 25% higher at $24.83. The boost comes after the apparel manufacturer posted a smaller-than-expected loss for the first quarter, and raised its sales guidance for the year.
This is a welcome sign for the stock, which just touched a four-year low of $18.00 in the middle of May. The shares have been in a channel of lower highs and lows since early 2015, but are set to topple their 20-week moving average for the first time since July. Investors were skeptical heading into G-III Apparel Group's earnings, as roughly a quarter of GIII stock's float is sold short. A short squeeze could propel GIII shares higher, as it would take more than three weeks to buy back these bearish bets, at the stock's average pace of trading.
Acorda Therapeutics stock is trading 10% higher today at $16.79, getting a boost after positive data on CVT-301, the company's Parkinson's drug. ACOR stock has had a rough year, touching a 10-year low of $13.60 on June 1, and remains down 11% year-to-date. However, the shares are set to conquer their 10-week trendline for the first time since late March.
The rough stretch has not deterred options buyers, however. ACOR boasts a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.90 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), meaning calls have been bought to open at nearly three times the rate as puts. On an absolute basis, however, Acorda Therapeutics options volume is typically light, with not even 150 contracts bought during the past two weeks.
JASO is trading higher today, last seen up 2% at $6.51, afternews of a non-binding takeover bid for the company from its CEO, Baofang Jin, and his company Jinglong Group Co. Ltd. The offer values JASO's ADR shares at $6.80 apiece, so it's unlike JA Solar stock will move much higher than the offer price. This has been a solid year for JASO, which is up 37% year-to-date. The shares have been in correction mode since early February, yet short interest more than doubled over the past two reporting periods.