Here’s Why These 5 Stocks Are on the Move Today

With the NASDAQ index in the red and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Indexes barely in the green, shares of Highpower International Inc (NASDAQ:HPJ), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD), HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ), and Caesarstone Sdot-Yam Ltd (NASDAQ:CSTE) are exhibiting the same kind of movement in various directions today. Let’s find out why investors are trading these stocks at high volumes today and analyze how the hedge funds in our system were positioned in each stock as of December 31.

Our research has shown that the best strategy is to follow hedge funds into their small-cap picks. This approach can allow monthly returns of nearly 95 basis points above the market, as we determined through extensive backtests covering the period between 1999 and 2012 (see the details here).

It’s been a pretty fantastic day for Highpower International Inc (NASDAQ:HPJ) shareholders after the company announced that it has begun shipments of its lithium polymer batteries to drone maker DJI. DJI currently dominates the global drone market and is growing rapidly. Highpower CEO George Pan had this to say about the company’s work for the Chinese company:

“We are pleased to have passed DJI’s requirements as a product manufacturer and supplier, which we feel is a strong verification of both our flexibility and capability to cover a wider spectrum of products at a global reach. We have worked with the leaders in innovative and developing technologies, including the expansion of drone technology for recreational use and commercial enterprises. Working with DJI is a significant milestone in Highpower’s lithium battery business development and represents a new and exciting segment. As a world-leading drone brand, DJI is famous for its cutting-edge technology and rigorous requirements for its products and suppliers. Considering Highpower’s comparative lithium battery advantages and DJI’s high-end technologies, we feel that this is a mutually beneficial relationship that could grow over time.”

Given that Highpower International Inc (NASDAQ:HPJ) is a nano-cap, investors should do their due-diligence before considering an investment. None of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey held shares of the company at the end of December.

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Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) shares have surged by more than 28% out of the gate a day after the company announced that it has reached a debt agreement with its lenders that postpones the review of the company’s $4 billion revolving credit facility until June 2017. In return, Chesapeake Energy has pledged nearly all of the company’s assets as collateral. Analysts at Citi think the new debt agreement removes the possibility of Chapter 11 for Chesapeake in 2016 and gives the company time to benefit from potentially rising energy prices. A short squeeze and momentum buying could be reasons for today’s positive price action, an even stronger continuation of yesterday’s gains seen in the stock. Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Capital LP was among 32 funds in our database that held shares of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) at the end of 2015.

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On the next page, we examine what’s happening with shares of MannKind Corporation, HP Inc, and Caesarstone Sdot-Yam Ltd.

Shares of biotech company MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) are 14% higher on no particular news. The only near-term catalyst appears to be that the company will host an analyst call for the investment community on April 19 regarding its commercialization strategy for Afrezza in the U.S. MannKind assumed responsibility for the worldwide commercialization of Afrezza from Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) after the drug maker terminated the partnership due to poor Afrezza sales. MannKind will begin to distribute Afrezza in the third quarter. 11 of the 785 funds that we track owned 1.9% of MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD)’s shares at the end of the fourth quarter.

HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) is off by 1.7% this morning after research firm Gartner reported that global shipments of PCs fell by 9.6% year-over-year to 64.8 million units in the first quarter. The quarterly drop builds on the five consecutive quarters of declines witnessed prior to it. PC shipments are now the lowest they have been since 2007, as a weak global economy and smartphone competition weigh on demand. It was also reported that Dell beat HP in U.S PC shipments during the quarter for the first time in six years. 40 funds in our system owned $874.39 million of HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ)’s shares which accounted for 4.10% of the float on December 31, a steep decline from the 59 funds with holdings valued at $3.07 billion on September 30.

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Caesarstone Sdot-Yam Ltd (NASDAQ:CSTE) is 11% higher today after the Israeli Calcalist Press published a report concerning the company and one of its major shareholders, Kibbutz Sdot Yam, which could indicate that the founder and largest shareholder of the company will sell its position after losing a contentious proxy fight between the two sides late last year. Kibbutz Sdot-Yam owned approximately 32.4% of the company at the end of 2015. 20 elite funds in our database owned $147.64 million worth of Caesarstone Sdot-Yam Ltd (NASDAQ:CSTE) at the end of the fourth quarter, down by two funds quarter-over-quarter.

Disclosure: None