Earnings Reports Have Investors Abuzz About Gilead, Las Vegas Sands, 3 Other Stocks

Crude futures are again in the red as traders prepare for another API inventory release later today. We’re also in the heart of earnings season and several prominent stocks reported their quarterly results after the bell on Monday. In this article we’ll check out the results posted by W. R. Berkley Corp (NYSE:WRB), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), Brixmor Property Group Inc (NYSE:BRX), and Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) and see how they performed. We’ll also check out how the smart money is positioned among the five stocks.

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Berkley Pulls Off Double Beat

W. R. Berkley Corp (NYSE:WRB) earned $0.82 per share on gross premiums of $1.94 billion for the second quarter, exceeding the consensus estimates by $0.05 per share and $90 million respectively. Net premiums written rose by 6.4% year-over-year while the company’s combined ratio came in at 94.9% after catastrophe losses. Book value inched up by 3.2% during the quarter to $39.97 per share. Hedge funds were pretty bullish on the insurer as of March 31. Of the 766 active funds that we track, 23 owned a combined $1.07 billion worth of W. R. Berkley Corp (NYSE:WRB) shares, which accounted for 15.60% of the float.

Gilead Shares in the Red Despite Earnings Beat

Traders are watching Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) today after the company reported its second quarter results yesterday. Although the company’s EPS beat estimates by $0.06 per share and revenue was in-line, the market was evidently expecting more than Gilead’s $3.08 in net income per share on revenue of $7.78 billion for the period. Sales of Gilead’s other drugs failed to offset the 28.9% year-over-year decline in Harvoni’s sales during the quarter. Thus, Gilead’s revenue fell by 5.6% year-over-year. Lower revenue guidance could also have something to do with the pre-market jitters, as shares are down by nearly 5%. Gilead expects net product sales of $29.50 billion-to-$30.50 billion for the year, down from the previous guidance range of $30.00 billion-to-$31.00 billion. During the first quarter, the number of funds in our system with holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) rose by four to 93.

On the next page we ‘ll dig into the earnings reports issued by Las Vegas Sands Corp, Brixmor Property Group, and Celanese Corporation.

Macau Finally Stabilizing?

Investors are bidding shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) 3.83% higher in extended market trading after the casino giant reported its second quarter earnings. Although Las Vegas Sands missed earnings and revenue estimates by $0.04 per share and $110 million respectively with EPS of $0.52 on sales of $2.65 billion, the company’s crucial Macau segment showed some green shoots. The company’s mass gaming revenue in June rose year-over-year, marking the first such monthly mass gaming growth in around two years. The mass gaming segment will be increasingly important in the future as China’s economy develops. 30 funds that we track had a bullish position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) at the end of the first quarter, up by six funds from the end of the previous quarter.

Mixed Results at Brixmor

Brixmor Property Group Inc (NYSE:BRX) reported mixed second quarter results, with FFO of $0.52 per share on sales of $310.06 million, beating the cash flow estimate by $0.02 per share but missing the top-line consensus mark by $4.56 million. Leased occupancy rose by 30 basis points year-over-year to 92.8% while same property NOI inched up by 3.5%. Management sees FFO per share coming in at $2.03-to-$2.06 for the full year, a narrowing of the previous guidance range of $2.01-to-$2.09. 13 funds in our system owned shares of Brixmor Property Group Inc (NYSE:BRX) as of March 31, up by two funds from December 31.

Celanese Earnings Top Expectations

Despite revenue retreating by 8.8% year-over-year and falling short of analyst estimates by $70 million, Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE)‘s earnings were better than expected by $0.03 per share. For the period, Celanese earned $1.59 per share on sales of $1.35 billion, driven by management’s focus on productivity and efficiency and the company deploying $200 million in cash during the quarter to buy back 2.8 million shares. In addition to the buybacks, both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s upgraded Celanese’s credit to Investment Grade during the quarter. Nonetheless, shares of Celanese have slumped by 4.20% this morning. Cliff Asness‘ AQR Capital Management owned over 820,000 shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) as of the end of March.

Disclosure: None