The S&P put in an inside day as stocks were choppy, but earnings reports from eBay (EBAY) and Netflix (NFLX) after-hours ensured that it was far from a boring day.
Netflix easily topped EPS and revenue estimates and is currently up more than 17% after-hours. eBay (EBAY) reported lukewarm numbers, but announced a $5B share buyback program, as well as news that Carl Icahn is placing two members on the board after his fund recently accumulated a more than 1% stake in the company. Icahn is pushing the company to spin-off its PayPal unit that provides the growth engine for eBay. The stock initially jumped above $60 in post-market action, but has faded a bit and is currently trading just below $57, up around 4%.
Biotech stocks looked set to continue their relentless rally in the morning, but a few sector leaders showed some signs of exhaustion in the afternoon while others took the baton. Gilead (GILD) and Intercept (ICPT) pared most of their pre-market gains after gapping up, Galt (GALT) finished down 5.75%, and Biogen (BIIB) put in a doji after briefly breaking above yesterday’s high. Money rotated today into Amgen (AMGN), which staged a very clean 4.29% breakout and closed on highs.
Facebook (FB) broke to new highs in the morning but a negative media report helped trigger a reversal in the stock that will need to be monitored. A Princeton study labeled FB a social network “epidemic” that could lose 80% of its users by 2017, which was enough to cause some anxiety for investors. Twitter (TWTR) also remained somewhat frustrating as it looked like it might wake up in the morning only to give back gains in the afternoon. With some patience, I think TWTR will eventually get an igniting move after some recent rest.
Disclosure: No relevant positions
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Leave a Reply