Here’s Why These Five Stocks Are Making Headlines Today

Main US indices are close to flat amid a stronger dollar and as investors await Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech at the end of the week, when she is expected to hint towards an interest rate hike in September.

Among the stocks in the spotlight today are Syngenta AG (ADR) (NYSE:SYT), Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO), Intersil Corp (NASDAQ:ISIL), Straight Path Communications Inc (NYSEMKT:STRP), and CIFC LLC (NASDAQ:CIFC). Let’s take a closer look at the developments surrounding these companies and assess the hedge fund sentiment towards them to gain some perspective regarding their long-term performance.

At Insider Monkey, we track around 770 hedge funds and institutional investors. Through extensive backrests, 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).

Syngenta AG (ADR) (NYSE:SYT) has gained over 10% in today’s trading session after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved Syngenta’s acquisition by ChemChina for $43 billion. ChemChina had made an offer to buy the Swiss pesticides and seeds company in Feburary 2016. The transaction is subject to antitrust authorities in the USA and European Union, but Syngenta expects the deal to be closed by the end of the year. During the second quarter, Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital increased its stake in Syngenta AG (ADR) (NYSE:SYT) tenfold to 1.75 million shares.

On the other hand, Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO)’s stock is down by over 7% after the company announced that Chief Financial Officer J. R. Sult had left the company, citing personal reasons. Marathon Oil has appointed Pat Wagner as interim CFO. A total of 26 funds tracked by Insider Monkey held shares of Marathon Oil Corporation at the end of June, down from 33 funds a quarter earlier.

On the next page, we are going to discuss Intersil Corp (NASDAQ:ISIL), Straight Path Communications Inc (NYSEMKT:STRP), and CIFC LLC (NASDAQ:CIFC).

Shares of Intersil Corp (NASDAQ:ISIL) are almost 20% in the green after reports emerged that Renesas Electronics  is in talks to buy Intersil. According to The Wall Street Journal, Japan-based Renesas confirmed the talks and the value of the deal could be as high as $3.0 billion, people familiar with the matter said. On the other hand, Intersil declined to comment on the potential deal. At the end of June, 14 funds from our database were long Intersil Corp, including  Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, which held 1.59 million shares.

Straight Path Communications Inc (NYSEMKT:STRP)’s stock nosedived after the opening bell, but managed to level out and is currently trading 0.50% in the red. The reason for the decline was a Bloomberg article that discussed how missing transmission equipment around the country could lead to the Federal Communications Commission revoking the company’s airwaves rights. After an anonymous report in November 2015, the company had conducted an independent investigation into the matter and said it couldn’t “find any evidence that the equipment used in connection with the substantial service applications is still present at the originally specified locations”. “Aside from this issue – this obviously is a major issue we’re addressing – we think the company is very well positioned,” Straight Path Chief Executive Officer, Davidi Jonas, was quoted as saying in an interview. Eight investors tracked by Insider Monkey held around 5% of Straight Path’s outstanding stock at the end of the second quarter.

CIFC LLC (NASDAQ:CIFC) is up by 58.76% following news that F.A.B. Partners will acquire CIFC in a cash deal worth $333 million. Shareholders of CIFC LLC (NASDAQ:LLC) will receive $11.46 in cash per share, which includes a cash distribution of $0.10 per share. Jeffrey S. Serota, Chairman of CIFC’s Board, said: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with F.A.B., which follows a thorough review of strategic and financial alternatives that generated interest from over a dozen suitors.” During the second quarter, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management initiated a stake in CIFC that contained 13,702 shares at the end of June.

Disclosure: None