Stocks Muscle to New Highs on Retail Strength
Dick's Sporting Goods is one name surging post-earnings
Stocks have muscled their way to new highs today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) each hitting fresh all-time peaks earlier. Retail stocks are some of the day's best performers so far, thanks to positive earnings reactions for several names, including Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS). Traders are also digesting a busy day of economic data, which includes an unexpected drop in October new home sales -- though September's numbers were upwardly revised -- as well as the Conference Board's consumer confidence index, which fell for a fourth straight month in November.
The retail stock at new highs after earnings.Why Square's red-hot win streak could continue.Plus, bulls blast Mosaic; the cybersecurity stock near the bottom of the Big Board; and more on Dick's Sporting Goods earnings.
Fertilizer name Mosaic Co (NYSE:MOS) is seeing unusual options activity today, with more than 19,000 contracts traded -- 11 times the average intraday amount. The January 2020 19-strike call is most active, and it looks like new positions are being purchased, meaning traders are eyeing a breakout above $19 over the next two months. MOS stock was last seen up 0.3% at $18.69, but is still down 36% year-to-date.
Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE:PANW) is one of the biggest losers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, as the cybersecurity firm's dismal current-quarter earnings forecast offsets a fiscal first-quarter profit beat. A round of price-target cuts is only increasing pressure, with PANW last seen down 10.9% at $223.01 -- a much wider move than the options market was anticipating.
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) is one of the best stocks on the Big Board this afternoon, breaking through recent congestion in the $41 region to trade up 20.1% at $47.37. What's more, the shares topped out at a two-year high of $47.79 earlier. This bull gap was sparked by the sporting goods retailer's beat-and-raise, as well as a price-target hike to $50 from $40 at CFRA.
