Stocks are pushing higher today after a number of companies promised to use tax savings to increase worker wages. Among the names making the biggest moves are retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY), utility stock PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), and drink producer Long Island Iced Tea Corp (NASDAQ:LTEA). Here's a quick look at what's moving shares of BBBY, PCG, and LTEA.
Bed Bath & Beyond stock is sinking following the company's third-quarter earnings release, last seen trading 13% lower at $21.38 -- earning a spot on the short-sale restricted (SSR) list -- with analysts reacting bearishly. Morgan Stanley, for example, was one of at least three brokerage firms to lower its price target, dropping it to $22 from $23. The analyst in coverage was disappointed by the retailer's gross margins and expects more pressure in 2018, adding that tax savings will most likely be reinvested in the business instead of returned to shareholders.
BBBY shares have shed almost 47% in 2017, though the formerly resistant 50-day moving average appears to have switched to support, it'll be hard for them to gain any momentum if short sellers keep piling on. In fact, the nearly 22 million shares dedicated to short interest equate to 15.7% of the stock's float.
PG&E stock is also on the SSR list, nosediving 13.9% to trade at $44.02, after the company suspended its dividend. The move comes in response to uncertainty over its potential role in October's Northern California wildfires. PCG earlier touched a nearly four-year low of $41.61, and analysts are pouring salt on the wound.
RBC weighed in with a downgrade to "sector perform" from "outperform" and dropped its price target to $50 from $66. Deutsche Bank, meanwhile, moved its price target down to $61 from $65, and Evercore ISI cut its PCG target to $55 from $61.
This selloff is playing right into short sellers' hands. Over the past two reporting periods, short interest on PG&E jumped 50.1%. Of course, only 1.8% of its float is sold short at the moment. Most analysts are also bearish, with five of nine saying the utility stock is a "hold" or "strong sell."
Long Island Iced Tea is now Long Blockchain. The company is officially changing its name as it transforms from a beverage maker to blockchain investor. Not surprisingly the stock is soaring, last seen trading up 185.2% at $6.96, touching an annual high of $9.49 earlier. It's easily the top Nasdaq stock today, and the move has to be shocking short sellers. Short interest on LTEA jumped 60.5% over the past two reporting periods.