Here’s What’s Pushing These 5 Stocks Higher Today

Oil prices have rallied today, sending U.S stocks up as well. The latest round of quarterly earnings is also pushing the stock market higher, with ECB president Mario Draghi’s comments about possible further stimulus having also spurred the confidence of investors. In this article we’ll talk about some of today’s top gainers: FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE), Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:CY), Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN), Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI), and TrovaGene Inc (NASDAQ:TROV).

At Insider Monkey, we track around 730 hedge funds and institutional investors. Through extensive backtests, we have determined that imitating some of the stocks that these investors are collectively bullish on can help retail investors generate double digits of alpha per year. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these funds, which are usually less followed by the broader market and allow for larger price inefficiencies (see more details about our small-cap strategy).

FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE) is up by more than 3% this morning after the company completed the acquisition of iSight Partners Inc for $200 million. With the stock down by approximately 75% in the last seven months, FireEye has been looking to widen the array of services that it offers. After having acquired Mandiant Corp in 2014, a company that investigates cyber attacks after they happen, FireEye has now bought a company that gathers intelligence to prevent attacks.

“This acquisition extends FireEye’s intelligence lead with an offering no one else in the industry can match. Forward-looking security organizations — from governments to the private sector — know threat intelligence is the key to establishing a robust security posture tuned for the threats targeting each organization,” said David DeWalt, CEO of FireEye.

Hedge fund sentiment towards FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE) slightly improved during the third quarter, with the number of long hedge fund positions increasing by two to 37 by the end of September. Karthik Sarma is bullish on this stock, having boosted his investment by 36% over the quarter. His fund, SRS Investment Management, reported ownership of 4.47 million shares in its latest 13F filing.

Shares of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:CY) are trading higher by nearly 7% on the back of positive business updates. The company has reiterated its outlook for the fourth quarter, expecting revenue of $430 million-to-$460 million and a profit in the range of $0.11 to $0.15 per share. Cypress will release its latest earnings report on January 28, before the market opens. The company has also announced that its board of directors will be buying up to $450 million worth of its stock.

Roughly 23% of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:CY)’s common stock was held by 32 elite funds in our system at the end of the third quarter, down from 35 a quarter before. George Soros‘ Soros Fund Management is the among the top holders of the stock, having reported ownership of 19.8 million shares, up by 25% over the quarter.

Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) is preparing to tighten its belt and investors have welcomed the news. The stock is currently trading up by more than 15% from yesterday’s closing price. The company said it plans to lay off or reduce the role of 1,100 employees, or roughly 45% of its workforce. The recent glut in the oil market has affected Southwestern Energy as well, with the company expecting reduced drilling activity in 2016. Southwestern hopes this will help it save between $150 million and $175 million per year.

The popularity of Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) among the funds we track registered a gain during the third quarter, with 38 of them reporting a stake in the company as of the end of September, up by five from the start of the quarter. Israel Englander is still betting on the stock to grow, having boosted his stake by 11% during the quarter. In its latest 13F filing, Millennium Management reported ownership of 9.35 million shares of Southwestern.

It rarely happens that a stock rallies after missing estimates by miles, but Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) managed to do just that, as management made all the right moves to counteract the poor performance of the company in the previous quarter. But first things first; Kinder Morgan posted revenue of $3.63 billion and a loss of $0.29 per share, compared to analysts expectations of $3.90 billion in revenue and earnings of $0.18 per share. The big discrepancy is due to a massive, $1.15 billion asset write-down, while the revenue also suffered because of the falling commodities prices. Kinder Morgan management has slashed its budget for 2016 by 20% to $3.3 billion and investors have greeted the announcement with praise, pushing the stock up by as much as 21% during the first hours of trading today.

Although roughly 10% of the funds from our database had Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) in their portfolio at the end of September, together they held a meager 3% of the company’s common stock. FPR Partners, run by Bob Peck and Andy Raab, holds the largest stake in the company among the funds we follow, holding 5.98 million shares according to its latest quarterly report.

TrovaGene Inc (NASDAQ:TROV)‘s stock jumped this morning on the news of an agreement between the company and America’s Choice Provider Network, which will offer patients access to its circulating tumor DNA Precision Cancer Monitoring tests. These tests detect oncogene mutations in patients that suffer from cancer and provide information necessary for better management of the disease. Shares of TrovaGene are currently trading up by roughly 30% from yesterday’s close.

Only six of the funds that we follow reported a long position in TrovaGene Inc (NASDAQ:TROV) at the end of September, together holding 15% of the outstanding stock of the company. Roberto Mignone is a fan of the stock, having also increased his investment by 5% to 3.29 million shares by the end of the quarter.

Disclosure: None