Here’s Why These Five Stocks Are Trending on Wednesday

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) is slightly in the green today after the embattled drug company announced Howard B. Schiller will be the interim CEO of the company while previous CEO Michael Pearson is hospitalized due to severe pneumonia. Schiller was Valeant’s CFO from December 2011 to June 2015. In addition, Robert Ingram, the lead independent director, will serve as the interim chairman of Valeant’s board.

“As Mike’s medical leave continues, and the timing of his recovery and return remains uncertain, Howard will now step in as CEO on an interim basis. Howard’s performance as Valeant’s CFO, as well as his deep understanding of Valeant’s operations, are excellent and we are grateful that he has agreed to take on this role. The Board will continue to work closely with Howard and the other members of the senior management team to implement Valeant’s strategy successfully in Mike’s absence,” Ingram was quoted as saying in a statement.

Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC)’s stock has declined by some 9% in morning trading despite reporting solid first quarter earnings of $0.24 per share on revenue of $145.8 million, beating estimates by $0.01 per share and $1.38 million. Sales rose 4.2% year-over-year, while the restaurant chain’s same-store sales jumped by 5.3%. Management expects same store sales to rise by another 2% – 4% in 2016 and for EPS to grow by 16% – 20%. Hedge funds are bullish on Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC), as 30 funds from our database reported long positions in the company as of the end of September, versus 24 funds a quarter earlier.

The analysts at Evercore are more bullish on Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), as they recently have upgraded the company to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ on the belief that much of the downside risk to the stock has already been priced in. The analysts like Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s recurring revenue streams and believe the company’s 12.6 forward P/E makes the stock undervalued given the software giant’s cash flow visibility. A total of 57 funds among those we track held shares of Oracle at the end of September, amassing 4.70% of its outstanding stock.

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