U.S. stocks are trading higher this morning, with the Dow sailing to higher record highs. Among the stocks making moves this morning are real estate and homebuilder Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN), biopharmaceutical company Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ:VICL), and credit service Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX). Here's a closer look at what's moving shares of LEN, VICL, and EFX.
Shares of LEN are higher after the homebuilder reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. The stock was last seen trading up 2.7% at $54.25, and earlier peaked at $55.41 -- just cents from its two-year high of $55.75, tagged after Lennar's June earnings report. Year-over-year, LEN sports a respectable 26% gain.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), options traders have favored calls over puts during the past two weeks. The stock sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.42, ranking in the 69th percentile of its annual range. This indicates that LEN options buyers were picking up calls over puts at a faster-than-usual clip heading into earnings.
Vical stock was last seen trading up nearly 28% at $3.26 -- and earlier touched a new annual high of $3.70 -- after the company said its antifungal drug is eligible for limited use indication (LUI) approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The biopharmaceutical stock is up more than 40% year-to-date, but could run into a wall in the $3.75 area -- where the shares traded before a big bear gap just over a year ago.
Quite a few short sellers could be kicking rocks today. Short interestincreased 46% over the past two reporting periods, and now represents about a week's worth of pent-up buying demand, at VICL stock's average pace of trading. A short squeeze could propel the shares even higher.