Here’s Why Traders Are Talking about These Five Stocks Today

It’s been a quiet day on Wall Street as all three indexes inched up after the bell amid a slight increase in oil prices.

Among the stocks trending this morning are PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP), Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG), and Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM). Let’s find out why traders are talking about these stocks and see how the world’s greatest investors are positioned towards them.

Hedge fund sentiment is an important metric for assessing the long-term profitability. At Insider Monkey, we track over 760 hedge funds, whose quarterly 13F filings we analyze and determine their collective sentiment towards several thousand stocks. However, our research has shown that the best strategy is to follow hedge funds into their small-cap picks. This approach can allow monthly returns of nearly 95 basis points above the market, as we determined through extensive backtests covering the period between 1999 and 2012 (see the details here).

PepsiCo Reports Earnings 

PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) shares are 1.7% higher after the beverage maker reported second quarter earnings of $1.35 per share on revenue of $15.39 billion, beating the consensus estimates by $0.05 per share and $20 million, respectively. Organic revenue grew by 3.3% in the quarter, while the company’s core constant currency EPS rose 6% in the same time period. Gross margin also expanded by 115 basis points. PepsiCo’s management expects full-year EPS of $4.71 versus the previous $4.66 and compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 per share. The number of funds from our database with holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) rose by seven quarter-over-quarter to 65 at the end of March.

Tesla Motors’ Self Driving System Isn’t Perfect

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is in the spotlight today after the Wall Street Journal published an article stating that the electric car manufacturer’s autopilot technology isn’t perfect. The Journal noted that some drivers claim the semi-automated driving software ‘is flawed and can lull owners into danger’ given that one person, Joshua Brown, has died while using the technology and others have gotten into accidents with it. Ever the futurist, Elon Musk has defended the company’s tech as ultimately saving lives (if one crunches the math) and holding great promise. Among the funds we track, 39 funds had a bullish position in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) at the end of March, up by 10 funds from the previous quarter.

On the next page, we find out why Barrick Gold Corporation (USA), Goldcorp Inc (USA), and Newmont Mining Corp are in the spotlight.

Gold Stocks on Watch After Commodity Price Hits 28 Month High

Traders are watching gold miners such as Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG), and Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) today after the price of the yellow metal hit a 28 month high yesterday. Although the Brexit vote catalyst is in the rear view mirror, analysts at UBS think gold has more room to run. UBS’s Joni Teves writes:

Our sense is that individual positions are not particularly large, but rather the extent of involvement has been quite expansive. It’s also worth noting that despite the very strong inflows into gold ETFs YTD, global holdings are still some distance away from record highs.

Given the increasing uncertainties in the world, with China’s slowing economy, the potential for a British or EU recession due to the Brexit, and stiffer trade policies if Trump were elected, gold prices could continue higher if the right events occur. If gold prices trend higher, gold miners will benefit with stronger margins and greater revenue. Among the funds in our database, Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) was the most popular with 49 funds reporting stakes the end of the first quarter. Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) was next with 37 funds holding shares and Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG) was third with 33 funds sporting a position at the end of March.

Disclosure: none