U.S. stocks are trading mixed this morning, with the Dow elbowing higher after some positive blue-chip earnings reports. Among the stocks making moves this morning are pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), banking concern Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), and GPS navigation company Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN). Here's a closer look at what's moving shares of JNJ, MS, and GRMN.
Shares of Johnson & Johnson are moving higher after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and hiked its full-year forecast. The Dow component is up 2% at $138.70, and earlier set a new record high of $139.38. Today's post-earnings pop carries JNJ comfortably above the $137 level, which -- despite multiple intraday challenges since June -- has yet to be conquered on a daily closing basis.
Given the strong price action in Johnson & Johnson stock this year, it's no surprise to find that speculators are bullishly aligned. Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) show JNJ's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.01 ranking in the 100th annual percentile, pointing to extreme levels of optimism among pre-earnings options traders.
Morgan Stanley stock is soaring after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings this morning, and at last check, was up 1.9% at $49.88. MS rallied to a new nine-year high of $50.33 out of the gate, and now sports a year-over-year gain of more than 54%.
Data from the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX suggests options traders were leaning bearish before MS's earnings report. The stock sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 0.95, which ranks in the 87th percentile of its annual range. This indicates that puts were purchased at a higher-than-usual rate relative to calls during the past 10 weeks.