These Stocks Under $5 Are Poised To Explode

Brazil-based energy behemoth Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR)(NYSE:PBR) was the fourth most-held under-$5 stock among hedge funds as of June 30. Even though the shares of the company appreciated by 50.6% during the second quarter, they couldn’t hold on to their gains and now trade down by 37.5% year-to-date. The phenomenal rise of Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR)(NYSE:PBR)’s stock during the second quarter also didn’t reflect in its popularity among hedge funds, with the number of hedge funds we track who owned a stake in the company declining to 31 from 35 during the second quarter and the aggregate value of investors’ holdings rising by a paltry 3.12% to $760.56 million during that period. Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR)(NYSE:PBR) announced yesterday that its Chairman, Murilo Ferreira will be taking leave until November 30 and that Luiz Nelson de Carvalho, the head of the audit committee of the company, will serve as the interim Chairman during that period. In wake of the recent decline in crude oil prices, which will affect its profitability in the coming years, and the corruption scandal that hit the company a few months ago, Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA informed its shareholders recently that it is making efforts to reduce its corporate expenses down to $12 billion by 2019. Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin‘s Senator Investment Group was the largest shareholder of the company among funds we cover, owning 20.0 million shares at the end of June.