Stocks Extend Rebound On Trade Deficit, Jobs Data

Stocks are extending this morning's gains, rebounding from yesterday's slump as investors unpack a slew of economic data. Initial jobless claims for last week came in at 385,000 -- in line with estimates, and lower than the previous week -- while continuing jobless claims fell below 3 million for the first time since March 2020. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit climbed to a record 6.7% in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was last seen up 191 points, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are firmly in the black as well.

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One stock seeing a surge of options activity today is Datadog Inc (Nasdaq: DDOG), last seen up 14.8% to trade at $131.95, and earlier gapping to a record high of $135.38, after a strong second-quarter earnings report. So far, 42,000 calls and 13,000 puts have crossed the tape, which is 12 times what is typically seen at this point. Most popular is the weekly 8/6 135-strike call, followed by the 140-strike call in the same series, with new positions being opened at both. The 30-day moving average has been a solid source of support for the security since May, containing several pullbacks in recent weeks.

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SiTime Corp (Nasdaq: SITM) is one of the best-performing stocks on the Nasdaq today. Shares are up 35.2% at $190.56 at last check, after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings of 46 cents per share, alongside a revenue beat. To follow, Barclays raised the security's price target to $175, while both Raymond James and Needham hiked it to $180. Earlier, the security reached a new all-time high of $195, and is now up 233.8% year-over-year. 

Meanwhile, one of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is Nevro Corp (NYSE: NVRO), last seen down 26.3% to trade at $109.02. The medical equipment concern reported narrower-than-expected second-quarter losses, but pulled its full-year forecast due to Covid-19 concerns. In turn, four analysts chimed in with downgrades: Canaccord Genuity to "hold," William Blair to "market perform," and Piper Sandler and Citigroup to "neutral." Plus, the equity earned 10 price target-cuts. Today's drop has NVRO trading at fresh annual lows. 

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