Core Laboratories, PTC, KCG, and Westlake Chemical Surge, While SunEdison Files for Bankruptcy

KCG Holdings Beats Estimates

KCG Holdings, Inc. Class A (NYSE:KCG) shares are trading up by almost 6.3% this afternoon, reacting to the announcement of the company’s first quarter financial results this morning. EPS of $0.41 came in $0.19 above the Street’s consensus, while revenue of $345.42 million handily beat estimates of $310 million in sales. The results were somewhat boosted by $9.5 million of other income, mainly derived from the sale of certain assets and gains on repurchases of the firm’s debt. In addition, KCG Holdings, Inc. Class A (NYSE:KCG)’s management announced an expanded stock repurchase program of up to $200 million of common stock and warrants.

16 funds in our database held long stakes in KCG at the end of 2015, with their stakes accounting for 7.5% of the company’s float.

Westlake Spikes on Bullish PVC Market Projections

Another gainer on Thursday is Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK). The smid-cap chemicals manufacturer said on Wednesday that it will release its first quarter financial results prior to the market open on May 3. However, it is not company-specific news that seems to be driving the spike in the stock price. According to a new study by Grand View Research, the global Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) market (in which Westlake has a very strong position) is expected to reach $79.11 billion by 2020, on the back of surging construction and infrastructure spending in Latin America and the Asia Pacific region.

29 funds in our database were long Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) as of December 31, owning 8.5% of the company’s shares at that time.

Chapter 11: SunEdison’s Bankruptcy

Finally, there’s Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE), which was down by about 0.33% before the stock was halted for trading early this morning. In a move that did not surprise investors at all, the solar energy company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Once the largest and fastest growing solar energy company in the U.S, SunEdison embarked on an acquisition spree that built up its debt to roughly $16.1 billion as of September 30, while assets only reached $20.7 billion. “It was financial maneuvering that turned SunEdison into a hedge fund darling, but that also led to its failure,” a Forbes article explained.

Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE) counted 50 hedge fund backers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, with their positions accounting for almost 32% of the company’s float. One notable investor was David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, which disclosed ownership of 18.6 million shares as of the end of 2015. However, it should be noted that the fund trimmed its exposure to the company during 2016, declaring a holding of 11.33 million shares as of last Monday.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article.