Top Stocks to Watch Today: QCOM, AXP, VIRT

The top stocks to watch today (Thursday) are Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM), American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), and Virtu Financial Inc. (Nasdaq: VIRT).

top stocks to watch todayTrumpcare is coming back. There is an effort by the Trump administration to make progress on the American Health Care Act, the replacement for Obamacare, before the 100-day mark. That mark comes next week for Trump.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank kick off their spring meeting today in D.C., and Trump is expected to be a large part of the conversation. The group of 189 members hopes to convince Trump to soften his protectionism stance and embrace open trade and global integration.

Now that we know what's moving markets, here are the three top stocks to watch today...

Top Stocks to Watch Today: Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM)

Qualcomm stock is up 2% in early morning trading after posting its earnings report.

The chipmaker beat earnings per share (EPS) expectations of $1.19. The company reported adjusted EPS of $1.34. This earnings beat helps calm concerns about its business model of patent-licensing.

Revenue expectations were $5.94 billion, but the company beat estimates, reporting $5.99 billion.

There are still some concerns for the company, though. Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) sued Qualcomm in January, citing being overcharged for its chips and refusing to pay promised rebates.

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QCOM stock is currently trading at $52.61 for a loss of 19.3% so far this year.

Top Stocks to Watch Today: American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP)

American Express stock is up 2.6% in early morning trading after reporting quarterly earnings.

Card members spent 8% more on their cards this quarter compared to last year, after adjusting for currency. This brought the card company's revenue to $7.89 billion.

EPS stands at $1.34. This is down from $1.39 for the same quarter a year earlier.

AXP stock is trading at $75.55 for a gain of 2% year to date (YTD).

Top Stocks to Watch Today: Virtu Financial Inc. (Nasdaq: VIRT)

Virtu Financial stock is up 7.7% in early morning trading after announcing it is buying out KCG Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KCG).

The market maker and liquidity provider will purchase KCG for $20 a share in an all-cash deal worth $1.4 billion.

While it is common for the target of a takeover bid to see a bump in share price, it is less common to see the company doing the buying see a bump in share price. This usually indicates that investors feel the merger is beneficial to the company.

VIRT is currently trading at $14.95 for a loss of 6.3% YTD.

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