The stock market was mostly higher early Wednesday with the Dow Jones industrial average narrowly lower. Hot IPO stock and Leaderboard member Roku (ROKU) stock fell hard amid new competition from Amazon.com (AMZN). PayPal (PYPL) stock was breaking out above a flat base’s point. Meanwhile, Salesforce.com (CRM) stock will report its fiscal-Q2 results after the market close.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite led the stock market action with a 0.2% gain, while the S&P 500 followed up with a 0.1% rise. The Dow Jones edged 0.1% lower.
Among companies reporting earnings, marijuana stock Tilray (TLRY) jumped 10% early Wednesday after reporting strong Q2 sales. The July 19 IPO hit a new high after an Aug. 20 breakout above an IPO base’s 34.20 buy point.
American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) declined 12% on weaker-than-expected Q3 guidance. Shares are below their 50-day support level, having successfully tested that area three separate times since a breakout above a double bottom’s 18.93 buy point in mid-February.
After the market close, Salesforce.com will report its earnings results. Analysts expect the cloud software stock to earn 47 cents per share on revenue of $3.232 billion.
Roku fell as much as 7.2% before trimming losses to about 4% after Amazon announced plans to launch an ad-supported free video app — a direct competitor to Roku. The IPO Leader hit a new high Monday. Shares of Amazon rose over 1% and were at new highs.
Leading payment processor Square (SQ) moved up nearly 3% after Guggenheim raised its price target from 75 to 100 early Wednesday. Shares hit a fresh 52-week high. Fellow payment-processor PayPal stock was breaking out above a 92.45 flat-base entry with a near-2% advance. Jefferies hiked its price target from 100 to 110.
Recent breakout Palo Alto Networks (PANW) was on the cusp of being extended from a 219.48 flat-base entry. The 5% buy range tops out at 230.45. The cybersecurity leader looked to extend a win streak to six trading sessions with a 0.5% gain.
Among the top growth stocks, Abiomed (ABMD) is trying to regain its 50-day line with a near-2% advance. The maker of heart pumps plunged below that support level on July 26 in big volume after missing Q2 earnings estimates.
On the downside, Lululemon (LULU) fell over 2% despite having its price target raised from 97 to 131 at Canaccord Genuity. The analyst firm kept its hold rating on the yoga-gear maker. Earnings are due out Aug. 30 after the market close.
