All Eyes On Alphabet, Verizon, Boeing, and 2 Other Stocks This Morning

Crude prices are lower in the pre-market after yesterday’s slightly deflating EIA report. Not only did distillates inventory rise, but domestic production also rose. Seeing as one report doesn’t equal a trend, the rally in crude prices could still continue. Among the stocks trending today are Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD), Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). Let’s find out why each stock is in the spotlight and analyze how the smart money is positioned in them.

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Mega-Merger Nearing Final Stages

According to Bloomberg, Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD)‘s merger with SABMiller Plc is closer to becoming a reality. Sources say that China’s commerce ministry has no major qualms about the merger, particularly after Anheuser-Busch agreed to divest the manufacturer of Snow beer to China Resources Beer. Once China’s government gives the deal the thumbs up, the last major hurdle will be U.S. Justice Department approval. South Africa will also need to give its blessing to the deal. Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management was one of the top shareholders of Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) at the end of March.

Boeing May Have a New Competitor

Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) is in the spotlight after Russia unveiled its new medium-range passenger plane, the MC-21, made by the Irkut Corporation. Russia says that the plane is superior to others on the market and will enter serial production in 2017. Although Russia has long been known for its aeronautical prowess, the country doesn’t have much market share outside of the country and faces stiff competition from established entrants. Cliff Asness‘ AQR Capital Management owned over 1.1 million shares of Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) at the end of the first quarter.

On the next page we examine why investors have their eyes on FuelCell Energy, Verizon, and Alphabet today.

Verizon Quantifies Cost of Labor Strike

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is trending after CFO Fran Shammo provided hard numbers on the effect of the resolved labor strike at a recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference. According to Mr. Shammo, the seven-week strike will lower Verizon’s EPS by around $0.05-to-$0.07 per share. The company’s full year results could also be negatively affected by the strike. Verizon settled the strike by agreeing to provide an 11% bump to salaries over the next four years, among other concessions, for the approximately 40,000 workers who protested. Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway was long 15 million shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) as of the most recent 13F reporting period.

FuelCell Energy Misses Expectations

FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) is 5% lower in pre-market trading after missing earnings expectations. For its second quarter of fiscal year 2016, FuelCell Energy lost $0.56 per share on revenue of $28.58 million, missing the consensus estimates by $0.16 per share and $6.44 million respectively. Product sales came in at $15.4 million, down from $20.2 million a year earlier, while service and license revenue amounted to $10.6 million, up from $4.6 million for the comparable period of the prior fiscal year. Revenue backlog rose to $410.7 million, from $403.9 million on January 31, 2016. The company continues to focus on strengthening its offerings to support larger project sizes. Of the 766 active funds in Insider Monkey’s database, just three were long FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) at the end of the third month of the year, holding 3% of its float in aggregate.

Alphabet Matches Apple’s Moves

A few hours after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) executive Phil Schiller told reporters that iOS developers who maintain a subscription with their customers for longer than a year will have Apple’s share of the subscription fees cut in half to 15%, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s Google unit disclosed that it is prepared to lower its Google Play fees to 15% as well. The difference between Apple and Google’s cut is that Google is planning to cut its subscription fees in half from the beginning of the subscription period rather than after one year. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) was in the portfolios of 142 funds in our database at the end of March.

Disclosure: None