Here’s Why These Five Stocks Are Trading Higher on Friday

The US stock market is trading lower on Friday as investors are digesting the FOMC minutes released on Wednesday and try to assess the probability of an interest rate hike in September.

However, a number of stocks are trading in the green today, including Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD), Corrections Corp Of America (NYSE:CXW), Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL), and Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE:RH). Let’s look at the catalysts that are driving the prices of these companies higher and take a look at some investors that are betting on the stocks.

At Insider Monkey, we track around 770 hedge funds and institutional investors. Through extensive backrests, we have determined that imitating some of the stocks that these investors are collectively bullish on can help retail investors generate double digits of alpha per year. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these funds, which are usually less followed by the broader market and allow for larger price inefficiencies (see more details about our small-cap strategy).

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock has gained around 7% following the release of the company’s results for the third quarter of fiscal 2016. The company reported revenue of $2.82 billion, which missed the estimates by $20 million, but EPS of $0.50 was higher than the expected $0.48. Applied Materials had an order backlog of $3.66 billion at the end of the quarter. For the fiscal fourth quarter, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) expects sales to grow by 15% to 19% sequentially, while EPS is expected between $0.61 and $0.69. Harris Associates reported ownership of 23.91 million shares in its 13F filing at the end of June.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD)’s  stock has appreciated by 9% after the company revealed the performance of its new new Zen processor core. The company showed a 40% improvement in its instructions per clock cycle compared to past processors. Current product from Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) outclassed Intel’s product. During the second quarter, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies boosted its stake in Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) to 9.69 million shares.

On the next page, we are going to discuss Corrections Corp Of America (NYSE:CXW), Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL), and Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE:RH).

Shares of Corrections Corp Of America (NYSE:CXW) are up by 14%, recovering after yesterday’s drop on the back of the US Department of Justice’s announcement that it plans to phase out the use of private prisons. Earlier today the company has responded to the announcement stating that it will work closely with its partners and continue to provide cost effective solutions to the US government. “We have been a keen observer of the BOP’s declining inmate population over the last three years. Nonetheless, we are disappointed with the BOP’s decision to reduce its utilization of privately operated facilities to meet their capacity needs, and believe our value proposition remains strong,” Damon Hininger, Corrections Corp’s CEO said in a statement. Renaissance Technologies holds around 850,200 shares of Corrections Corp Of America (NYSE:CXW) according to its 13F filing for the second quarter.

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL)’s stock has gained 10% on the back of the company posting better-than-expected results for the second quarter. It posted revenue of $1.78 billion and EPS of $0.94, which topped the estimates by $20 million and $0.04, respectively. Comparable same-store sales saw an increase of 4.7% for the quarter. Harris Associates reported ownership of 6.69 million shares as of the end of June

Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE:RH) is around 9% in the green today after Goldman Sachs added the company to its ‘American Conviction Buy List’ with a price target of $40. Analysts expect the company to create value in two ways, the first one by meeting current expectations and second by conserving cash, reducing expenditure, and deploying trading sales for profits. “In a sense, we expect RH to deliver the refresh to its vitality that the market originally expected a year ago, but which was derailed by its own struggles and macro headwinds,” analyst Matthew Fassler said. Among the investors we track, Pasco Alfaro and Richard Tumure’s Miura Global Management reported ownership of 1.35 million shares i ne.

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