Here’s Why Apple, Alcoa, Twilio, and Two Other Stocks Are Trending Today

Markets are trading in the red today amid tumbling oil prices and a bearish start of the earnings season.

However, some of the stocks are gaining special attention today, including Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA), ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO). Let’s find out why these stocks are in the spotlight and assess what smart money investors from our database think about them.

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Alcoa Misses Estimates

Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA)’s stock is almost 10% in the red after the company reported third-quarter EPS of $0.32 on revenue of $5.21 billion, worse than the analysts’ estimates of $0.34 in EPS and $5.33 billion in revenue. For 2016, Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) now expects global aluminum deficit of 615,000 metric tons, with 5% demand growth and 3% supply growth. The engineering and manufacturing company sees full year aircraft deliveries to be flat to up 3%. In the fourth quarter, Alcoa expects potential asset sales of approximately $250 million. The company is set to split its legacy metal-producing businesses from value-added parts operations on November 1. In a statement, Alcoa’s CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said the company showed “resilience” despite of the market challenges.  A total of 38 funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) at the end of the second quarter.

ConAgra Foods Announces Buyback Allowance Increase, Date for Spinoff

ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG)’s stock is in the spotlight today after the company announced a share buyback allowance increase and a distribution date for the spin-off of its Lamb Weston business. The Nebraska-based packaged food company has set November 9 as the distribution date for spinning-off Lamb Weston business, whereas the record date is November 1. The company’s shareholders will receive 100% of the common shares of Lamb Weston following the spin-off. ConAgra Foods’ board of directors also approved to increase the existing share buyback program to $1.25 billion. However, the new program is dependent on the spinoff of the Lamb Weston business. The company said in a statement that the authorization is part of a capital allocation strategy to balances debt reduction, dividends, share repurchases and growth investments. Barry Rosenstein’s  JANA Partners is one of the biggest stakeholders of ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) with over 18 million shares of the company as of the end of June.

On the next page, we will discuss the other three stocks that are gaining attention today.

Goldman Sachs Upgrades Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is on investors’ radars today after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ and raised the price target to $112 from $76. Goldman Sachs analyst Jerry Revich said in a note that Caterpillar would generate margin expansion due to the company’s reduction of footprint in the European construction industry, a decline in R&D focus, and capital allocation in high-end product lines. Revich thinks that these developments would positively affect the company’s earnings. The stock has gained 30% year-to-date. As of the end of the second quarter, 31 funds tracked by us own shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), down from 37 funds a quarter earlier.

Apple Rising on Samsung’s Note 7 Debacle

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares have inched up today after Samsung announced to end the production and sales of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 following several reports of replacement devices catching fire. On Monday, Apple’s stock jumped by over 2%, its highest rally since December last year. Analysts think that the Samsung’s brand reputation has been massively dented after the Note 7 debacle, and it will give a competitive advantage to Apple in the coming months. Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White has suggested that the discarding of the Note 7 production, could result in Apple gaining “at least” 8 million iPhone units sold this year. In other news, both tech giants are set to launch their historic legal battle in the Supreme Court on patent infringement case, which started back in 2011 when Apple sued Samsung for copying round corner design of phones and several other software and hardware features. A total of 116 funds from our database own shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as of the end of the second quarter, significantly down from 152 funds a quarter earlier.

Twilio’s Preliminary Q3 Results Beat Estimates

Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO)’s stock is gaining ground after the company announced preliminary third-quarter results that are above the Street’s forecasts. The California-based company which provides Cloud communication platform for famous services like Uber and WhatsApp, expects a net loss per share of $0.14 to $0.15 in the third quarter, less than the loss of $0.70 per share recorded in the same quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO) expects a loss per share at $0.04-$0.05, better than the estimates of a loss of $0.09 per share. Quarterly revenue is expected to come between $70.25 million and $71.25 million, above the consensus estimate of $64.37 million. The company sees gross margins at 56%, whereas operating margin is expected to be -17%, narrower than -20% recorded a year earlier. A total of nine funds tracked by us are bullish on Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO) as of the end of June.

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