Friday’s Biggest Movers: Kite Pharma, Lloyds Banking, MGT Capital, More

The U.S markets are poised to conclude the week on a very bullish note, as stocks have jumped following the release of strong employment data, showing far more robust economic health than had been anticipated.

Investors are talking about several stocks in particular today, including MGT Capital Investments Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGT), Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE), SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ:LEDS), Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN), and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LYG). Let’s find out why these stocks are making noise today and see what the hedge funds that we track think of them.

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MGT Capital’s Reversal

After gaining heavily following the announcement of a large-scale Bitcoin mining operation last month, MGT Capital Investments Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGT) is down by 6.86% so far today.  MGT is set to launch a facility in central Washington State that will generate over two PetaHash in processing power and has an expansion capacity of up to nearly 10 PetaHash. MGT Capital’s stock has gained an eye-popping 1,704% in this year. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors owns 90,789 shares of MGT Capital Investments as of the end of March.

Kite Pharma’s Ill-Timed Decision?

Investors are keenly watching Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE) following the FDA putting a hold on Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:JUNO)‘s Phase II study of a cancer drug after the death of two patients enrolled in the study. Just hours after this news, Kite Pharma announced that it had completed the enrollment of 72 patients for its Phase II trial of KTE-C19 for the treatment of lymphoma and leukemia. Analysts believe the move is an ill-timed and non-judicious one, as Kite Pharma’s trial will be under nearly the same setup as Juno Therapeutics’. Shares of Kite Pharma have already started feeling the heat, tanking by more than 9% since the opening bell today.

Among the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 23 were bullish on Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE) at the end of the first quarter. Leonard A. Potter’s Wildcat Capital Management was a notable hedge fund among them, with ownership of more than 2.35 million shares of the company.

We will discuss the trading activity and investor interest in SemiLEDs, Resolute Energy and Lloyds Banking Group on the next page.

SemiLEDs Plunging After Yesterday’s Heavy Gains

SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ:LEDS)’s stock, which had more than doubled in value yesterday, has given back some of those gains today, falling by 8%. SemiLEDs skyrocketed on Thursday following the company’s agreement with Dr. Peter Chiou, according to which Dr. Chiou will purchase 577,000 shares of SemiLEDs’ common stock at $5.00 per share. Dr. Chiou will also take an unpaid place on the company’s Board of Directors. Only three hedge funds in our system were long SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ:LEDS) at the end of the first quarter.

Resolute Energy Sells Texas Assets

Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN)’s stock has risen by 14.58% today after the company reported that it is selling its Appaloosa and Mustang projects in Reeves County in West Texas for $110 million. In a statement, the Denver-based oil and gas company said an undisclosed Permian Basin midstream company will pay $50 million for the assets currently in place and $60 million in earn-out payments tied to field drilling activity through 2020. Resolute Energy will receive $32.85 million in an upfront payment, while its partner in the Mustang area will receive $17.15 million.

A total of 14 hedge funds in our database were long Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN) as of the end of March. John H. Scully’s SPO Advisory Corp owns approximately 14.75 million shares of the company as of March 31.

Lloyds Banking Rises After Jobs Report

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LYG) have jumped by more than 5% so far following the strong jobs report released by the Labor Department, which showed that the economy is on firm footing. This development wipes the possibility of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve off the table for the near future, helping banks amass bigger profits on mortgages and other lending activity.

Only seven funds in our system were long Lloyds Banking Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LYG) at the end of the first quarter, up from five funds a quarter earlier. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management owns 84.27 million shares of the company according to its latest 13F filing.

Disclosure: None