What is Happening to These Stocks on Wednesday?

The US Stock Market plunged on Wednesday alongside the markets around the world as investors increase their worries over China and oil prices. However, macroeconomic factors aside, a number of stocks are moving on the back of more specific news, such as earnings reports. In this article, we are going to take a closer look at five stocks that are in the spotlight today, namely TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), GNC Holdings Inc (NYSE:GNC), Zafgen Inc (NASDAQ:ZFGN) and Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Also, we are going to assess the hedge fund sentiment towards these stocks.

Hedge fund sentiment is an important metric for assessing long-term profitability. At Insider Monkey, we track over 700 hedge funds, whose quarterly 13F filings we analyze to 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 more details here). .

The first on the list is TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD), whose shares are nearly 4% lower after the company reported its financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal 2016. For the quarter ended December 31, TD Ameritrade reported revenue of $812 million, down by 0.9% year-on-year, and in line with expectations, while its earnings advanced to $0.39 per share, exceeding the analysts’ estimates by $0.03.

Among the funds we follow, 19 reported long positions in TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD) as of the end of September, down by two funds from a quarter earlier. Robert Joseph Caruso‘s Select Equity Group reported holding a $201.1 million position in the stock as of that time, comprising 1.91% of its 13F portfolio.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stock was declining in the intraday trading and is currently just 0.9% in the green, despite the company reporting solid subscriber numbers and better-than-expected EPS for the fourth quarter. The company said it added 5.59 million new subscribers during the quarter, compared to 4.33 million a year earlier, while its EPS of $0.07 managed to beat the estimates by $0.05. However, the revenue of $1.82 billion came in $10 million lower than estimated by analysts. The stock surged by around 10% in extended trading on Tuesday, but registered losses of more than 5% today as investors may be worried over a slowdown of growth in the US, uncertainty related to the company’s performance in other countries where it launched its service earlier this year, and negative cash flows.

However, hedge funds seem to like Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). The stock gained popularity among the investors that we track in the third quarter, as 57 funds held shares of the company on September 30, up by seven funds over the quarter, and they amassed 14.9% of its float. Among them, Chase Coleman‘s Tiger Global Management was the largest shareholder, reporting ownership of 17.99 million shares in its last 13F filing.

Next on our list is GNC Holdings Inc (NYSE:GNC), whose stock is well in the green after the company reported an increase of 0.8% in its fourth-quarter same store sales results and said its earnings forecast for the full-year 2015 to be in the range of $2.87 and $2.92 per share. The company will release the results on February, 11.

GNC Holdings Inc (NYSE:GNC) gained popularity among the investors that we track in the third quarter. A total of 42 funds held shares of the company at the end of September, up by two over the quarter, amassing 34.2% of the company. Among them, Ricky Sandler‘s Eminence Capital was the largest shareholder, reporting a position of 5.19 million shares.

Moving on, Zafgen Inc (NASDAQ:ZFGN) shares have surged by 80% after the company announced positive results from its Phase 3 clinical trial of Beloranib in Prader-Willi Syndrome. The clinical trial was the first to demonstrate positive effects on the reduction in body weight and hyperphagia-related behaviors.

During the third quarter, Zafgen Inc (NASDAQ:ZFGN) registered an increase in popularity among the funds we track, with 14 investors holding long positions at the end of September, versus 12 funds a quarter earlier, amassing around 9.5% of its outstanding stock. James E. Flynn‘s Deerfield Management was the largest shareholder in Zafgen Inc (NASDAQ:ZFGN), with 553,472 shares, valued at $17.68 million at the end of September.

Completing our list is Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)‘s stock inched down by more than 3% so far today after the company said it had filed a lawsuit against a supplier of parts for an improper operation of the doors of its Model X.

The hedge fund sentiment has stayed steady in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), as the number of funds long the stock remained unchanged at 26 at the end of the third quarter. Daniel Benton‘s Andor Capital Management was the largest shareholder of Tesla Motors, with 1.0 million shares, valued at $248.4 million at the end of September.

Disclosure: None