5 Stocks That Are Exhibiting Heightened Volatility Today

With the FOMC meeting tomorrow and the Brexit vote scheduled for next Thursday, June is likely to be a more volatile month than usual. The VIX fear index is above 20 and all three indexes are in the red this afternoon. Among the stocks showing more volatility than usual are Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (NYSE:PBR), Sonus Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONS), Stone Energy Corporation (NYSE:SGY), Mesoblast limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:MESO), and Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZBH). Let’s take a closer look at each stock and see how the smart money is positioned in them.

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Petrobras Drops Due to Crude

Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) is 3.7% lower today after Brent prices retreated below the $50 mark to trade near $49.64 per barrel. Crude prices are off by 1% today due to profit taking and fears that a Brexit might lower crude demand in Europe. In other news, Bloomberg reports that Petrobras’ Japanese unit in Okinawa has drawn robust interest from several companies, including TonenGeneral and JX Holdings Inc. Given the small nature of the unit, the sale of the unit won’t matter much to Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) in the grand scheme of things however. Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management was a big shareholder of Petrobras at the end of March.

Top Sonus Networks Executive Leaves

Sonus Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONS) shares have retreated by 4.4% after CFO Mark Greenquist left to take a similar role at a leading e-commerce company. Mr. Greenquist will be replaced by Susan Villare, who previously served as the VP of financial planning and analysis. Although executive churn is not good, Sonus Networks has tried to reassure investors by re-affirming its 2016 EPS and revenue guidance. 20 top funds in our system were long Sonus Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONS) as of the most recent 13F reporting period.

On the next page we check out the situation today regarding Stone Energy Corporation, Mesoblast limited, and Zimmer Biomet Holdings.
Stone Energy Rising on Interest Payment

Stone Energy Corporation (NYSE:SGY) shares have rallied by 14% after the company announced that it will make $29 million in interest payments on senior notes maturing in 2022. The payment will put Stone Energy in compliance with its obligations under the indenture. In addition, Stone Energy made a second borrowing base deficiency payment of approximately $29.2 million on June 13. Stone Energy continues to assess its restructuring options. 15 funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned shares of Stone Energy Corporation (NYSE:SGY) at the end of the first quarter, unchanged from the end of December.

Mesoblast Drops After Partner Backs Out 

Mesoblast limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:MESO) received some bad news after former developmental partner Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) returned the rights of an investigational drug, MPC-150-IM, back to Mesoblast. MPC-150-IM is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the potential treatment of chronic heart failure. Mesoblast limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:MESO) shares are off by 38% today on the news. Of the 766 active funds in our database, none of them owned shares of the company at the end of the first quarter.

Zimmer Biomet Prices Offering

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZBH) is 1.5% in the red after pricing a secondary offering of slightly over 11 million shares by certain stockholders, at $115.85 per share. Zimmer Biomet will not receive any proceeds from the sale. Shares of the company have done well year-to-date, rallying by around 15% since January 1. The stock trades at a forward P/E of 13.5. 45 funds in our database owned $1.26 billion worth of Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZBH) shares on March 31, up from 37 funds with holdings valued at $991.9 million on December 31.

Disclosure: None