Trump's Latest Trade Threat Slams JD Stock
A Bloomberg report said the U.S. is considering delisting Chinese firms from U.S. stock exchanges
Stocks have erased early gains on a report from Bloomberg that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering limiting capital flows to China, including potentially delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges. This news is rocking Chinese stocks including e-commerce name JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ:JD). Solar power concern Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR) is diving lower today, too, after a scathing short seller report. Below we'll look at how JD and VSLR stocks are faring on the charts.
Trump Delisting Threat Throws JD Stock
The shares of JD are down 6% at $27.81 following Bloomberg's report (subscription required),though it is unclear how Trump's officials would go about a mass delisting of China-based stocks. In any event, the buzz has JD eyeing its lowest close since early August.
JDis now testing its 200-day moving average, which has supported most pullbacks since March. It has been a bumpy ride for JD, with the stock with the stock fluctuating wildly between the $26 and $32 regions since late February. And while the online seller has finished all but one of the last five sessions in the red, itstillboasts a 33% year-to-date gain.
Options traders haven't been quiet following this report, with 48,000 call contracts and 70,000 put contracts across the tape so far -- triple the intraday average. The weekly 10/4 28-strike put is seeing the most action, as it appears at least one trader may be rolling their weekly 9/27 29.50-strike puts down and out ahead of expiration today.
Short Seller Allegations Slam VSLR Stock
Solar panel name Vivint is under pressure today, after short seller Aurelius Value accused the firm of concealing "a growing pattern of undisclosed lawsuits alleging the company has engaged in nationwide fraud involving forged customer contracts." The short seller also said that many of the victims of this alleged fraud were "elderly, handicapped, and non-English speaking families."
The equity has lost 6.6% to trade at $6.25, eyeing its fourth consecutive loss, and lowest close in nearly five months. In fact, VSLR has shed more than 18.5% so far this week, pacing for its worst week since 2016.
This recent negative price action hasn't deterred analysts, however. All five in coverage call the equity a "strong buy." Plus, the consensus 12-month price target of $11.57 is at an 84.8% premium to current levels, and represents a region not touched since 2015.