These Four Stocks are Falling on Monday for Various Reasons

By midday on Monday, November 9, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by over 1.20% and the S&P 500 dropped by 1.26%, fueled by the decline across many stocks. In this way, Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AGIO), Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG), Commscope Holding Company Inc (NASDAQ:COMM), and TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSE:TA) are among the top losers on Monday and in this article we are going to take a closer look at the developments behind their declines.

We’ll also tackle the sentiment of hedge funds over these stocks. In the eyes of most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be underperforming, old investment tools of the past. While there are more than 8,000 funds in operation at present, Insider Monkey looks at only the aristocrats of this group, around 730 funds. Contrary to popular belief, Insider Monkey’s research revealed that hedge funds underperformed in recent years because of their short positions as well as the huge fees that they charge, not because they are not good at picking stocks on the long side of their portfolios. Hedge funds did in fact manage to outperform the market on the long side of their portfolios. In fact, the 15 most popular small-cap stocks among hedge funds has returned 102% since the end of August 2012, beat the S&P 500 Index by 53 percentage points (see more details here).

Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AGIO) is slipping by 10.50% in active trading by midday, after announcing “encouraging” results to its dose-escalation portion of a study of a first-in-class, oral, selective, potent inhibitor of mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1), in advanced solid tumors. The data found that for all 62 treated patients as of September 3, they demonstrated that AG-120 was well tolerated with a favorable safety profile in advanced solid tumors including glioma, IHCC and chondrosarcoma. The sentiment among smart money investors is also weak. According to our database of 730 hedge funds, 16 funds held just 1% of Agios Pharmaceuticals’ outstanding stock at the end of June.

Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) is falling 16.12% in brisk trading after ending its third-quarter 2015 segment in line with the guidance it set at the beginning of the year. Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG), a powerhouse in hydrogen fuel cell technology, reported $31.4 million in total revenue at the end of the quarter, which increased from the $19.9 million the company reported in the same quarter last year. However, the company widened its adjusted net loss to $11.4 million, or $0.06 per share in the third quarter of 2015, compared to a loss of $7.5 million, or $0.04 per share, in the prior-year period. At the end of June, 6 funds in our database held 0.50% of the company’s outstanding stock.

Commscope Holding Company Inc (NASDAQ:COMM), a provider of infrastructure solutions for communications networks, rolled back 16.43% in active trading, after releasing decreased net sales for the third quarter. While net sales slid to $972.6 million from $1 billion in last year’s Q3, Commscope Holding Company Inc (NASDAQ:COMM) reported a narrower operating loss of $42.5 million. The company also reported a net loss of $80.8 million, or $0.42 per share, in the third quarter of 2015, compared to loss of $96.4 million, or a loss of $0.50 per share in the prior-year period. A total of 38 funds held 32.50% of Commscope at the end of the second quarter.

TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSE:TA) withdrew 11.68% in active trading, after announcing lower results in its third-quarter 2015 earnings release. The company’s revenues were down to $1.51 billion in the most recent quarter, compared to $2.01 billion delivered a year earlier. Meanwhile, its net income declined to $9.8 million, or $0.26 per share, from $12.8 million, or $0.34 per share, in the same quarter last year. The company’s adjusted EBITDA  slid to $38.5 million, compared to $42.8 million in the prior-year period. TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSE:TA)’s travel centers operate under the “TravelCenters of America”, “TA”, “Petro Stopping Centers” and “Petro” brand names and offer diesel and gasoline fueling, restaurants, truck repair facilities, travel/convenience stores and other services which provide an efficient and enhanced travel experience. By the end of June, 15 funds from our database amassed over 10% of the company’s outstanding stock.

Disclosure: None