A Look at 5 Trending Stocks and the News Behind Their Moves

On Wednesday, the U.S stock market is trading with mixed results, as investors await news from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the stocks that are in the spotlight today, including FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM), Capnia Inc (NASDAQ:CAPN), RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES), Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA), and Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (NYSE:BAH). Aside from the news that affected their moves, we are also going to assess the hedge fund sentiment towards these stocks.

While there are many metrics that investors can assess in the investment process, hedge fund sentiment is something that is often overlooked. However, hedge funds and other institutional investors allocate significant resources while making their bets and their long-term focus makes them the perfect investors to emulate. This is supported by our research, which determined that following the small-cap stocks that hedge funds are collectively bullish on can help a smaller investor beat the S&P 500 by around 95 basis points per month (see more details here).

First up is FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM), whose stock is up by 13% after the company amended its stockholder rights plan. The change is intended to protect the interests of the business and its shareholders, and to preserve the value of net operating losses and tax credits. The amendment is in-line with the ones enacted by other firms which faced similar situations.

During the third quarter, FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM) registered a decrease in popularity among the funds that we track, with five investors holding long positions at the end of September, versus eight at the end of June. Among them, Kenneth Tropin’s Graham Capital Management was the largest shareholder, reporting ownership of 4.0 million shares in its latest 13F filing.

Next on our list Capnia Inc (NASDAQ:CAPN), the shares of which are up by 17% today after it announced that it has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Bemes, Inc., to sell the CoSense® End-Tidal Carbon Monoxide (ETCO) Monitor and Precision Sampling Sets (PSS). Although the financial terms have not been disclosed, the deal will provide Bemes with all rights to the sale of CoSense in the U.S.

Among the funds we track, Capnia Inc (NASDAQ:CAPN) is not popular, with only one fund, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors, reporting a long position equal to 0.1% of the company’s shares as of the end of September.

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES)’s shares are rallying by 7% today, after the company reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2015. For the fourth quarter, the company reported a net loss of $0.18 per share, on revenue of $268.1 million, missing EPS expectations by $0.01 but beating revenue estimates by $10.29 million. For the full year, revenue decreased by 45.9% year-over-year to $1.3 billion while the company registered a net loss of $99.6 million, or $0.47 per share, down from last’s year profit of $245.2 million, or $1.14 in diluted earnings per share.

Among the funds we follow, 17 reported long positions in RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) as of the end of September, down by two funds from a quarter earlier. Mario Gabelli‘s GAMCO Investors was the largest shareholder of RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) in our system, with 5.59 million shares valued at $49.5 million at the end of September.

Analysts at Topeka Capital Markets are bearish on Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA), as they downgraded the company to ‘Sell’ from ‘Hold’ today. The firm has a $19 price target on the stock, suggesting the stock has 26% downside potential. Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) shares are up by almost 30% in the last 12 months.

During the third quarter, Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) registered a slight increase in popularity among the funds that we track, with nine investors holding long positions at the end of September, up by one, and with them amassing around 36.3% of its outstanding stock. Mason Hawkins‘ Southeastern Asset Management reported holding a $287.75 million position in the stock as of that time, comprising 2.4% of its 13F portfolio.

Although Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (NYSE:BAH)’s board hiked its dividend to $0.15 from $0.13 per share, the stock is 5.2% in the red in Wednesday trading after it announced preliminary results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2016. The company reported fiscal third quarter EPS of $0.41, beating analyst estimates by $0.01 per share. The company’s revenue of $1.3 billion was flat when compared to the year-ago figure, but it came short of the consensus estimate of $10 million.

Hedge funds have been pessimistic on Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (NYSE:BAH), with 15 funds long the stock at the end of the third quarter, down from 23 funds long the stock at the close of the second quarter. Among the believers are Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley‘s Polar Capital, with a holding of 1.94 million shares at the end of September.

Disclosure: None