Here’s Why Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Georgetown Bancorp, and Three Other Stocks Are on the Move Today

Markets are trading on pessimistic note despite upbeat jobs data. The jobless claims for the last week showed unexpected drop, close to a 43-year low. The decline shows the strength of labor market, which may pave way for an interest rate increase by the Fed later this year.

However, the markets are also affected by individual stocks showing significant moves. Among these stocks are Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH), Georgetown Bancorp Inc. (MD) (NASDAQ:GTWN), Neptune Technologies & Bioressources-Ord (NASDAQ:NEPT), Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRBP), and Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ:BGFV). Let’s take a closer look at these stocks and discuss the news behind their moves. In addition, we are going to assess the hedge fund sentiment towards the stocks in question.

An everyday investor doesn’t have the same resources and capabilities to analyze different publicly-traded companies as hedge funds do. This is why it is a good idea to see what stocks hedge funds like the most and try to imitate some of their bullish moves in an attempt to reap market-beating returns. At Insider Monkey, we follow the activity of several hundred of the best-performing hedge funds as part of our strategy. We analyze their 13F filings and use the data to see what stocks they are collectively bullish on. Through extensive research we have determined that the best approach to outperform the broader indices is to follow hedge funds into their top small-cap ideas. In our backtests, a portfolio of the 15 most popular small-cap stocks generated monthly alpha of 81 basis points, versus 0.7 percentage points posted by hedge funds’ top large- and mega-cap picks (see more details here).

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) stock has gained 34% following news of positive data from its Voclosporin drug trial in patients with active lupus nephritis (LN). The 24-week trial data from all 10 patients revealed that 70% patients achieved complete remission at 24 weeks, as measured by a urinary protein creatinine ratio. The company’s chief medical officer said that the results offer ‘further proof of concept data to support voclosporin’s use in the treatment of active LN.’ Among the funds we track, five funds held $9.64 million worth of Aurinia’s stock in aggregate at the end of June, having amassed 9.10% of its outstanding stock.

Georgetown Bancorp Inc. (MD) (NASDAQ:GTWN) stock is trading nearly 25% higher after the company announced that it will be acquired by Salem Five Bancorp.  The all-cash transaction is valued at $49.2 million, which puts the company’s value at $26 per share, implying a premium of nearly 148% over the company’s tangible book value at June 30. The transaction was unanimously approved by both companies.

On the next page, we are going to discuss the news behind the activity of the other three stocks.

Neptune Technologies & Bioressources-Ord (NASDAQ:NEPT) stock has advanced by 17% so far today. On Monday, it was announced that Neptune reached a patent agreement with Aker BioMarine. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies agreed to end all outstanding litigations. Aker will also have access to Neptune’s composition patents and will receive $4 million over the period of 15 months for providing Neptune the rights to use its select krill oil-related patent portfolio. In return, Neptune will receive royalty payment worth $10 million over the course of 15 months. Just two hedge funds from our database have positions in Neptune Technologies, valued at $6.8 million in aggregate as of the end of June.

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRBP)’s stock jumped after the opening bell, but has retreated and is currently trading close to flat on volume significantly above average. No particular news seem to be behind the move. On Tuesday, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on the stock with a ‘Buy’ rating and $17 price target. In a note, Cantor pointed out that the company has several clinical inflection points due next year. Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings is scheduled to release data on its lead drug candidate resunab. The company will also release the initial efficacy result for three new orphan drugs in the near future. Seven investors we track reported positions in Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRBP) worth about $25.77 million as of the end of June, considerably higher than three funds holding stock worth $7 million a quarter earlier.

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ:BGFV)’s shares have rallied by over 10% after Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Baker upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ and set a $16.50 price target. The analyst cited increasing sales trends and market share gains, improvements in profitability from better margins, and higher earnings power, which are not “fully reflected” in the company’s value. The number of funds from our database long Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ:BGFV) declined to 10 from 13 during the second quarter, while the total value of their holdings slid to $41 million from $55 million and represented 20.60% of the company’s float at the end of June.

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