Stocks are starting the final full week of November off strong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) has pushed into the black after opening in the red, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) sports a comfortable triple-digit lead amid Tesla’s (TSLA) surge. The S&P 500 Composite (SPX) also boasts a solid midday gain, as investors eye Nvidia’s (NVDA) report on Wednesday, as well as a batch of retail earnings. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), meanwhile, is cooling off from Friday’s 13.8% gain — its biggest since Oct. 31.
Bloom Energy Corp (NYSE: BE) stock is getting blasted in the options pits today, with 36,000 calls and 21,000 puts traded so far, which is 10 times the volume typically seen at this point. The most popular contract by far is the January, 2025 30-strike call, where new positions are being opened. Shares are up 10.9% to trade at a fresh 52-week high of $23.46 at last check, after price-target hikes from RBC and Morgan Stanley to $28 from $15 and $20, respectively. BE is extending Friday’s 59.2% gain — the best on record — and now sports an impressive 126% quarter-to-date lead.Moderna Inc (Nasdaq: MRNA) stock is one of the best stocks on the SPX today, last seen up 4% to trade at $38.33. The shares are rebounding from a pullback that followed the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services thanks to an upgrade from HSBC to “buy” from “hold.” The stock still carries a 61.2% year-to-date lead after Friday’s four-year closing low of $36.85.Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR) stock is at the bottom of the SPX, down 6.7% at $61.39 at last glance. The shares are today taking a breather from their Friday record closing high of $65.77, which followed news of its switch to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), effective on Nov. 26. So far this year, PLTR added a massive 256.9%.More By This Author:Wall Street Wraps Up Volatile Week With Big LossesNasdaq, S&P 500 Eye Worst Week Since SeptemberDow, Nasdaq Shed Triple Digits After Fed Comments