Today’s Trending Stocks: Time Warner Inc, Sinclair Broadcast, Zoetis, and 2 More

Zoetis Rises on Earnings

Shares of animal health drugmaker Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) have spiked by 3% today after the company’s second quarter results beat top- and bottom-line estimates, amounting to EPS of $0.49 on revenue of $1.21 billion, the latter figure up by 2.5% year-over-year. Analysts were expecting $0.05 per share and $40 million less, respectively. Guidance was robust, as due to strong demand, Zoetis’ management increased its full-year revenue outlook to $4.8 billion-to-$4.9 billion and its adjusted EPS outlook to $1.86-to-$1.93. Although the fund recently cut its stake to 3.8% of the float, Bill Ackman‘s Pershing Square is still one of the top shareholders of Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) as of July 7, owning 18.89 million shares.

Humana Beats Expectations

Although its stock performance today doesn’t reflect it, Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) turned in a solid second quarter, with EPS of $2.30 on sales of $14.01 billion. The results beat estimates by $0.07 per share and $420 million respectively. All major lines of business with the exception of individual commercial exceeded management’s expectations and the company issued solid full-year guidance of $54.0 billion-to-$54.5 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of at least $9.25. Larry Robbins‘ Glenview Capital reported owning a stake of 6.4 million shares of Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) as of the end of March, down by 23% over the first quarter.

Newfield Inches Up on Crude Prices, Earnings

Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX) is 3% in the green today for two reasons. Firstly, crude prices are around 1.8% higher after today’s EIA report, and secondly, the company reported better than expected second quarter earnings of $0.32 per share, beating estimates by $0.17 per share. Due to the lower oil prices, Newfield’s revenue contracted by 18.8% year-over-year to come in at $381 million and missed estimates by $22.2 million. Profits beat despite the revenue miss in part because domestic lease operating expense per BOE fell by 25% year-over-year. Separately, Newfield also announced that it will sell its assets in Texas for around $390 million in a move that will help it further deleverage. 49 funds that we track had a long position in Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX) at the end of the first quarter, up by six funds quarter-over-quarter.

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