Why Ford, GE and Three Other Stocks Are in Spotlight Today

The three main indexes opened lower on Thursday as traders anticipate the housing starts release tomorrow and the Brexit vote next week. Volatility could also be heightened due to the soft economic data from China and crude’s recent retracement. Among the stocks trending today are Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU), Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), and The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO). Let’s take a closer look why these stocks are on the move and how smart money investors have been trading them lately.

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).

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Fiat and Ford New Car Registrations Rise in May

May car registrations figures in the EU are out, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) both made some year-over-year gains. According to the European Automobile Manufactures Association, new passenger car registrations of Ford vehicles rose by 7.9% on the year to 85,824 units. Fiat Chrysler did even better, with registrations advancing by 25.7% year-over-year to 96,692 vehicles. Overall, new passenger car registrations appreciated by 9.9% year-over-year in the European Union. The healthy year-over-year growth is good news for both companies as it means more revenues and cash flow. Shares of Fiat are nevertheless have lost around 3% so far today, while shares of Ford have inched down by around 0.60%. Among the funds we track, 28 funds owned shares of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) and 33 top funds were long Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) at the end of March.

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General Electric Looking to Expand Wind Holdings 

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is in the spotlight today after CEO Jeff Immelt said that the company is looking to acquire Areva-Gamesa’s offshore wind joint venture Adwen. Immelt specifically commented: “Being bigger would be useful for us. Talks are underway with different parties: Siemens, Areva, Gamesa, us and the French state”. Adwen has contracts to build 1,500 MW of offshore wind infrastructure in France. If completed, the acquisition would make GE the third-largest player in Europe’s growing offshore wind market. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway was one of the top shareholders of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) at the end of the first quarter. 

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On the next page, we examine Rite Aid Corporation, and The Coca-Cola Co.
Rite Aid Reports Earnings

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) shares have declined by over 1% after the company reported fiscal first quarter earnings of $0.01 per share on revenue of $8.18 billion, missing the estimates by $0.04 and $80 million, respectively. Same store sales rose by 0.4% year-over-year, while gross margin for the period inched lower by 490 basis points to 23.1%. The earnings might not matter much because Rite Aid and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) entered into a definitive agreement last year, under the terms of which Walgreens agreed to buy Rite Aid for $9 in cash per share. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year. At the end of March, 52 funds from our database amassed $960.22 million worth of Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), which accounted for 11.30% of the float, versus 47 funds and $1.23 billion, respectively, a quarter earlier.

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The Coca-Cola Co Revises Guidance

The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) is trending after the company updated its second-quarter guidance. Specifically, the company now expects the net impact of acquisitions, divestitures, and other structural items to be a 5 to 6 points headwind on net revenues and a 4 to 5 points headwind on income before taxes for the second quarter. The changes are mainly due to the completion of Coca-Cola European Partners plc, which occurred one month ahead of schedule. Overall, 62 funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) at the end of March, up by 11 funds from the previous quarter.

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