4 Rumors Driving Trading Action Today

Stocks staged an impressive rally off the lows today but failed to close in the green. Despite the drop, several rumors drove trading action in a number of stocks and markets. Below we highlighted a few:

Today's intra-day bounce in stocks was said related to a "giant" $31 million options transaction. The trade, according to a Wells Fargo's strategist, involved the buying of 20,000 S&P 500 calls expiring in October with a strike price of 4,500, 14,000 bullish contracts expiring in March with a strike of 4,300, and the selling of 48,000 calls maturing in January with an exercise price at 4,500.

Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) gained nearly 2% following reports from Bloomberg News it is talking with Blackstone (NYSE: BX) about selling some commercial and residential solutions assets for between $5-$10 billion. A Stephens analyst said the multiple that would be paid in a sale of the assets would be "well above" EMR's current average.

Lumen (NYSE: LUMN) shares fell nearly 10% on concerns about the dividend which were brought up by a Wells Fargo analyst who downgraded the shares today. The analyst sees ~20% or more downside risk in the event of a 50% dividend cut.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) surged off lows today on speculation it would be a target of a takeover, according to the opinion of a Reuters Breaking Views writer. The writer says the current price levels, make it an attractive takeover target.

By StreetInsider.com Staff

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