Five Stocks in Investors’ Spotlight Following Financial Results

Markets are steady this morning as investors digest Federal Reserve’s decision to keep rates unchanged and look forward to Bank of Japan’s two-day meeting. Meanwhile, companies continue to post their latest earnings reports.

Among the major stocks that are making moves this morning on the back of their quarterly results are Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW),  Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM). Let’s examine the financial results of these companies in more detail and take a look at the hedge fund sentiment towards them.

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Facebook Blew Past Street’s Estimates

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s stock is in the green this morning after the company powered above second-quarter estimates. The social media giant earned $0.97 a share, versus analysts estimates of $0.82, while revenue in the quarter totaled $6.44 billion, showing a 59% growth year-over-year, and topping the estimates of $6.02 billion. Facebook’s ad revenue in the quarter was a whopping $6.24 billion, crushing the Street’s prediction of $5.8 billion. Mobile ad revenue accounted for about 84% of the total ad revenue. Facebooks CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement that Facebook is building a community and focusing on relevant and engaging ads. Facebook’s monthly active users hit 1.71 billion during the quarter, versus 1.48 billion a year earlier. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global owns more than 20.13 million shares of the company as of the end of March.

Dow Chemical Beats Estimates

Shares of Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) have inched up today after the company posted second-quarter EPS of $0.95, better than the analysts’ forecasts of $0.85. Revenue of $12 billion also surpassed the estimated $11.24 billion. In a statement, Dow Chemical’s CEO Andrew Liveris said the company continues to see higher demand from North America, whereas Latin America is showing signs of improvement. Mr. Liveris added that Dow Chemical has a “resilient” business portfolio, strategic investments and self-help productivity actions to endure uncertainties of the market.  A total of 44 funds from our database owned shares of Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) at the end of the first quarter.

On the next page, we will discuss earnings reports and stock activity of Barrick Gold Corporation, Groupon and Whole Foods Market. 

Barrick Gold Misses Estimates, Increases Copper Guidance

Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) is trading in the red this morning after missing analysts estimates on the second quarter earnings. The Canada-based gold company reported EPS of $0.14, less than the forecasts of $0.15. Revenue in the quarter was $2.01 billion, versus the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. The company trimmed its debt by $968 million year-to-date, and plan to reduce the total debt to $2 billion by the end of 2016. Barrick Gold upped its copper guidance to between 380 million and 430 million pounds from 370 million to 410 million pounds, due to the commencement of commercial copper production in the Jabal Sayid copper mine in Saudi Arabia. Among the investors tracked by Insider Monkey, 49 funds were long Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) at the end of March, up from 40 funds a quarter earlier.

Groupon Posts Impressive Q2, Raises Guidance

Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) skyrocketed more than 23% so far today after the company raised its 2016 revenue guidance and topped estimates for the second quarter. The Illinois, Chicago-based eCommerce company posted a loss of $0.01 per share, better than the expected loss of $0.02 per share. Revenue for the quarter came in at $756 million, topping the analysts’ estimates of $711.2 million. For full 2016, Groupon sees its revenue between $3.0 billion  and $3.1 billion, up from the prior guidance of $2.75 billion to $3.05 billion. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies owns about 12.64 million shares of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) as of the end of first quarter.

Whole Foods Market Posts Disappointing Results

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM)’s has lost over 8% so far today on the back of the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings and weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter. The company earned $0.37, in-line with the analyst estimates, while revenue of $3.7 billion was slightly below the expected $3.73 billion. Comparable store sales fell by 2.6% in the quarter. For the fiscal fourth quarter, the supermarket chain expects its EPS to be in the range of $0.23 to $0.24, below the current consensus estimate of $0.25. At the end of March, 25 funds tracked by our team were bullish on Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM).

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