McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACRX) & More: Here’s Why These Stocks Are Trending Today

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRX) is up sharply in early trading today after providing an update on its investigational product candidate ARX-04. The company reported that ARX-04 was well tolerated in the management of moderate-to-severe acute pain in post-operative patients participating in a Phase 3 study. The subjects in the study included elderly patients and also those that had an organ impairment. AcelRx also said that its Phase 3 program is now complete and it plans to file an New Drug Application (NDA) in 2016 itself.  At the end of the second quarter, nine of the funds we track held $21.38 million worth of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals shares, compared to nine funds holding $25.03 million worth of shares at the end of the first quarter. The hedge fund holdings accounted for 17.50% of the company’s outstanding shares at the end of the second quarter.

Acasti Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ACST) has seen a sharp pullback of over 17% on some profit taking after Wednesday’s huge rally. Yesterday, the company announced successful results from a bridging study that will support an abbreviated approval pathway in the U.S. for CaPre (omega-3 phospholipid), the company’s product candidate for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia. Among the hedge funds in our database, two held $379,000 worth of Acasti Pharma shares at the end of the June quarter.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE:HOG) has seen its fiscal 2016 and 2017 outlook lowered by UBS earlier today. UBS analysts noted that the company’s inventory levels indicate there is downside risk to its forward guidance. Harley-Davidson shares have had a decent year so far, gaining more than 11%, compared to a gain of more than 4% for the S&P 500. However, the weak outlook could put some pressure on the stock. Among the funds we track, 20 held approximately $499 million worth of Harley-Davidson shares at the end of the second quarter, which represented 6.10% of the total outstanding shares.

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