Elizabeth Harrow
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On Thursday, the shares of Crocs, Inc. (CROX) shuffled to a new 52-week high for the second time in as many sessions. The equity topped out at $8.47 on an intraday basis, marking its best price since July 2008. But with the stock hovering near a 20-month peak, can the shares continue to climb -- or are they due for a pullback?

If today's drop of more than 2% is any indication, it seems that CROX's positive momentum is cooling. The stock's Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 63, not far from overbought territory, so this modest retreat isn't terribly surprising.

After the closing bell, SunPower Corporation (SPWRA) will take the spotlight to reveal its fourth-quarter earnings. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting the solar concern to report net income of 49 cents per share, down from its year-ago profit of 70 cents per share. Sales for the period are expected to arrive at $491 million.

SunPower has a solid history in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations in three of the past four reporting periods. Judging by a recent uptick in call buying, some traders appear to be anticipating another upside surprise.

Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) slipped into the red right out of the gate Wednesday morning, as traders reacted to the company's latest round of clinical drug data. HGSI said that its experimental lung cancer drug, mapatumumab, was well-tolerated by patients in a study, but the drug fared no better than a placebo in disease response or progression-free survival.

Full results of the study will be presented "at an appropriate scientific meeting later in 2010," according to a company release.

Are shares of The Coca-Cola Company (KO) poised for a technical breakout? One options trader seems to think so -- during the course of Monday's trading, a long strangle was opened on the blue-chip soda stock. In this two-legged spread, the direction of the stock's move doesn't matter -- only its magnitude.

Specifically, a block of 422 April 52.50 puts traded at the ask price of $0.68 around midday Monday. Simultaneously, a matching block of 422 April 55 calls changed hands at the ask price of $0.46. Implied volatility rose with each transaction, and open interest at both strikes rose overnight, confirming that these were newly opened positions.

Late Friday, Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) expanded the size of its planned senior notes offering from $550 million to $800 million. The sale of senior notes due 2015 was conducted via private placement, with the notes bearing an annual interest rate of 8.75%. Stakeholder Liberty Media (LCAPA) was slated to buy $150 million of the notes.

The offering is intended to provide Sirius the ability to prepay, in full, all of its borrowings under a senior secured term loan that matures in 2012. The satellite radio company will also redeem notes due 2013, and finance the fees and expenses related to the notes offering.

On Wednesday afternoon, interim CEO Robert Druskin confessed that E*Trade Financial (ETFC) is headed back to the drawing board in its search for a permanent new leader. At an investor conference, Druskin explained that the online broker's preferred candidate for the position was no longer in the running. (He didn't identify the erstwhile candidate, but we can safely assume it was not Lindsay Lohan.)

Druskin's announcement yesterday confirmed a recent report in The Wall Street Journal's Deal Blog. In a post published March 2, a trio of reporters explained that "E*Trade directors were concerned that the [top candidate] might become distracted by a pending divorce, according to people with knowledge of the discussions."

Late Tuesday, an advisory panel of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) voiced its approval for pirfenidone, the experimental lung drug from InterMune (ITMN). The panel voted 9-3 in favor of recommending pirfenidone to patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The FDA is expected to follow the advice of the advisory panel, although it's not required to do so. The regulatory agency is due to issue its final ruling on the drug's fate by early May.

Regional banking issue Comerica (CMA) is in focus today, after announcing last night that it will sell $800 million in common stock in order to repay its debt to the U.S. government. Under the terms of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Comerica owes Uncle Sam about $2.25 billion. At this point, the Dallas-based bank is among the few remaining financial institutions yet to repay its TARP debt.

This morning, Comerica priced its common stock offering at $35 per share, representing a discount to Monday's close at $36.29. The shares have quickly backpedaled as a result, slipping below recent support at their 10-day and 20-day moving averages.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) was the subject of a rosy write-up in Barron's over the weekend, with the financial publication noting that the company is well-positioned to benefit as "trends in the transportation industry are reaching an inflection point." In fact, portfolio manager Quoc Tran of Lateef Investment Management believes that "a stake in C.H. Robinson [is] the best way to enjoy a rebound in the transportation sector."

The stock enjoyed a modest boost Monday morning in the wake of the Barron's endorsement, with CHRW breaking out above short-term pressure from its 10-day and 20-day moving averages. The stock has added roughly 40% during the past year, capitalizing on support from its longer-term 10-month and 20-month trendlines.

Late Wednesday, Fannie Mae (FNM) confessed that delinquencies on loans in its single-family guarantee business increased to 5.38% in December, marking a steep increase from 2.42% in December 2008. The multifamily delinquency rate arrived at 0.63% for the final month of 2009, compared to 0.30% in December 2008.

Additionally, Fannie Mae reported that its mortgage investment portfolio contracted by 44.8% to $735.2 billion in January

Late Tuesday, Synovus Financial (SNV) confessed that it's facing an informal inquiry by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). In a regulatory filing, Synovus disclosed that the SEC is attempting "to determine whether any person or entity has violated the federal securities laws." The financial firm was first informed of the informal investigation in a letter from the SEC dated Dec. 15, 2009.

Synovus said it intends to cooperate fully with the SEC's inquiry, but declined to provide further information on the matter. "We cannot discuss any details of the informal inquiry," explained spokesman Gregory Hudgison. "As stated in our public filings, the SEC has not asserted that Synovus or any person or entity has committed any securities violations."

General Growth Properties (GGWPQ), the mall operator that shuffled into bankruptcy protection last year, says it has applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) once again. The company hopes to begin trading on the Big Board as of March 5, using its previous ticker of GGP.

"Trading again on the NYSE will mark an important milestone in GGP's restructuring process," said CEO Adam Metz in a press release. The shares currently trade over the counter.

Defense firm Oshkosh Corporation (OSK) is wallowing in red ink, after Barron's published a downbeat article on the company over the weekend. After securing a $3 billion, five-year Army contract, the author warns that "Oshkosh may have won the battle but lost the war."

The main thrust of the article appears to be an argument against further price appreciation for OSK, which has "gained 448% over the past 12 months based on a booming military business," according to Barron's. Plus, Tom Harenburg, a longtime investor in the company, adds that profit margins on the Army deal "are meager."

A report in the China Daily states that McDonald's (MCD) is slashing its prices amid cutthroat competition in China. Additionally, the fast-food titan is accepting competitors' coupons as part of a month-long promotion meant to woo Chinese consumers from rivals such as KFC and Burger King (BKC).

Specifically, Mickey D's has dropped the price on its McWings from 7 yuan to 5 yuan, and it's offering an extra 10% off to any customer who presents a coupon for fried chicken wings from any competing restaurant. Company spokesman Ren Yuan said the aggressive promotion is the first of its kind since McDonald's landed on the Chinese mainland in 1990.

DryShips Inc. (DRYS) has a date in the earnings spotlight after Thursday's closing bell, with the drybulk shipper slated to release its fourth-quarter results. Analysts are expecting DryShips to report a profit of 23 cents per share, modestly lower than its year-ago earnings of 25 cents per share. The company has a decidedly mixed history on the earnings front; during the past four reporting periods, Dryships has topped analysts' consensus expectations twice and fallen short on two other occasions.

Ahead of the report, calls are the options of choice among speculative investors. During the past 10 days, traders on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 6.87 calls for every put on DRYS. In other words, option players have purchased nearly seven times more bullish bets than bearish.