Here’s Why GM, Ford, Xerox and Two Semiconductor Stocks Are in Spotlight Today

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)‘s stock has inched up today amid reports that the company plans to acquire a 15% stake in digital mapping firm HERE, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. Earlier today, a filing to the German cartel office disclosed that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) had asked for approval to take a stake in HERE. The mapping company is controlled by Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW, who bought it from Nokia for $2.60 billion in 2015.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) was trading higher earlier today, but has given up the gains following the announcement that the semiconductor company is introducing a new display technology. The technology, Radeon FreeSync 2, will allow monitors to show the exact intended image pixels that an application requires, which should result in better image quality for gamers. In other news, yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Barack Obama’s chief science adviser is finalizing a report on Chinese investment in the US semiconductor companies, which could lead to restrictions on joint-ventures with Chinese firms and export controls. The report will provide guidance to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. on China’s efforts to dominate the semiconductor industry.

Both Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) registered a surge in popularity among investors tracked by us during the third quarter. In this way, at the end of September, 68 funds held shares of Intel, up by 11 over the quarter, while the number of funds long Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) surged by 22 over the quarter to 47.

Finally, Xerox Corp (NYSE:XRX)‘s stock is trading 15% higher after the company completed the spin-off of Conduent Inc (NYSE:CNDT). Following the separation, Xerox has received a cash transfer of $1.8 billion, which it plans to use to retire some of its debt, while shareholders of Xerox Corp (NYSE:XRX) have received one share of Conduent for every five shares of Xerox. In addition, earliert today, JPMorgan has upgraded Xerox’s stock to ‘Overweight’ to ‘Neutral’, saying that the spin-off represents the beginning of a turnaround process for the company. Among the funds we track, 32 investors amassed around 13.90% of Xerox Corp (NYSE:XRX)’s outstanding stock heading into the fourth quarter. Billionaire Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Capital holds the largest stake, which contains over 99 million shares, or around 9.7% of the outstanding stock, according to its latest 13F filing.

Disclosure: none