U.S. stock markets were sluggish once again today, as investors weighed the improvement in oil and Chinese stocks against a brutal day for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The Shanghai composite was up more than 3%, and crude oil was up near $46 a barrel again. While the sell-off on heavy volume for AAPL, which fell through its 200-day moving average yesterday, continued. AAPL stock, which was down as much as 3.5%, finished the day down a little over 3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index both shed 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was a tad better, losing 0.1%. About two-thirds of all sectors were to the downside, and basic materials were about the only strong sector today.
A couple of well-known names were among the highfliers on Wall Street today, as Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) pushed their way higher, while the lesser known Baxalta Inc (NYSE:BXLT) was in demand for its uniqueness.
Those stories follow:
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)
NFLX stock had a big day, soaring more than 7% on heavy volume of 29 million shares. NFLX was the beneficiary of an initiation of coverage in a note to investors by Guggenheim, with a “buy” rating and a price target of $160.
One has to wonder why Guggenheim waited until NFLX stock was over $112 before pulling the trigger on coverage. NFLX beat analyst estimates by 2 cents in the latest quarterly earnings report three weeks ago; and revenue, which met expectations, was up 22.8% from the previous quarter in 2014.
With today’s price action, NFLX stock hit an all time high of $122.79.
MGM Resorts International (MGM)
A second-quarter earnings beat had MGM stock pushing over 9% higher today. The casino operator reported earnings per share of 19 cents, well ahead of Wall Street’s estimates of 11 cents. Revenue of $2.38 billion was in line with Wall Street’s view, but fell 7.8% from a year ago.
Revenue was much stronger from U.S. casinos than from those in Macau, where Chinese officials have been putting an “anti-graft corruption drive” into place in recent quarters.
U.S. revenue was up 4%, while the Macau revenue was down 39%.
MGM stock fell from $23 to $17 from April to August. But over the last six sessions it has bounced back up above $21, and has once again climbed above its 200-day moving average.
Baxalta Inc (BXLT)
BXLT stock surged more than 12%, after drugmaker Shire PLC made a bid to purchase Baxalta, a subsidiary of Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX), for approximately $30 billion in stock.
Baxalta specializes in treatments for rare diseases, and that has become a hot commodity in the biotech world within the last few years. Over 30% of all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year were for rare diseases, which pretty well sums up why Baxalta can command such a hefty price tag.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
