Why Collegium Pharmaceuticals Inc (COLL), Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd (GLMD) and Three Other Stocks Are Registering Significant Gains Today

The US stock market opened on a positive note today and maintained the momentum, following the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

As the main indices are heading towards ending today’s session in the green territory, let’s take a look at five stocks that are registering significant gains today. The companies in question are Collegium Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:COLL), Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd (NASDAQ:GLMD), Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CNAT), TerraForm Global Inc (NASDAQ:GLBL), and FormFactor Inc (NASDAQ:FORM), and in this article we are going to discuss the developments that sent these stocks through the roof today as well as assess the hedge fund sentiment towards them.

We determine hedge fund sentiment by analyzing the equity portfolios of some of the best-performing hedge funds and institutional investors. Through extensive research, we have determined that the due diligence that these investors employ, as well as their long-term focus makes them perfect targets to emulate. However, the results of our analysis have also showed that the small-cap picks of these funds can generate much better returns, with the 15 most popular small-cap stocks beating the market by an average of 95 basis points per month (see more detail here).

Collegium Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:COLL)’s stock has surged by over 22%. No significant news seem to be affecting the stock, but  the stock has had a solid bull run in the last several trading session. Earlier today, Jefferies Group reaffirmed its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock, joining Needham & Company LLC, which last week reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating and $30 price target. Among the funds we track, 12 funds held $69 million worth of Collegium Pharmaceuticals’s stock at the end of June, having amassed 24.90% of its outstanding stock, compared to 12 investors that held $124 million worth of shares a quarter earlier.

Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd (NASDAQ:GLMD)’s shares have spiked by around 10% on news that the company has signed an Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trial Agreement with the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. The study will act as Phase I/IIa trial to assess safety, tolerability, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of Aramchol  for treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a juvenile population. The number of funds from our database long Galmed Pharmaceuticals declined by one to six in the second quarter, while the total value of their holdings slid to $2.21 million from $3.28 million.

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CNAT) has gained around 5% extending the gains from the last couple of days prompted by Allergan’s acquisition of Tobira Therapeutics. Conatus and Tobira both are developing treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Four hedge funds from our database have positions in Conatus Pharmaceuticals as of the end of June, having amassed  $2.652 million worth of stock, which represented  about 6% of Conatus Pharmaceuticals’ float.

TerraForm Global Inc (NASDAQ:GLBL) stock is over 14% in the green today. Earlier this week the company announced that it is exploring strategic alternatives for its business, which sent its stock higher. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that BlackRock might be considering to bid on another SunEdison yieldco, TerraForm Power Inc. (NASDAQ:TERP), which is also trading higher today. A total of 16 hedge funds we track hold about $110 million of TerraForm Global stock as of the end of June, down from 23 funds holding $81.56 million worth of stock a quarter earlier.

FormFactor Inc (NASDAQ:FORM)’s stock has advanced by some 11% in Thursday session. Earlier today, Craig Hallum announced that it initiated coverage on FormFactor’s stock with a ‘Buy’ rating. A total of 14 investors from our database amassed $55.29 million worth of FormFactor Inc (NASDAQ:FORM)’s stock heading into the third quarter, which compared with 14 funds holding $40 million worth of shares a quarter earlier.

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