Top 20 Most Popular Stocks Among Financial Advisors Dominated by Tech and Healthcare

Among healthcare companies, Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX) ranked as the most searched among financial advisors and was the fifth most popular overall. The stock plunged by 75% during the week, after the company said that its Phase 3 SUPPRESS trial of brincidofovir involving patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation did not achieve the endpoint in the prevention of cytomegalovirus. Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX) also announced plans to continue testing brincidofovir in adenovirus infections and smallpox.

The decline was slightly offset by a following disclosure of an investor building a massive stake in the company. Steven Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management, which is one of the most successful funds on the Street, reported a 5.3% passive stake in the company, days after the stock plunged on the back of disappointing Phase 3 results. Overall, out of more than 730 funds in our database, 17 held shares of the company at the end of September, amassing 11.70% of the company. Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisor and Jeremy Green‘s Redmile Group are two other investors that bet on Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX) going into the fourth quarter.

Another tech stock that jumped to the top 20 is Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR). The company’s shares plunged by 38% during 2015, as the company failed to impress investors with performance and underwent management changes. 2016 will be a crucial year for Twitter, since the recently appointed CEO Jack Dorsey is expected to convince investors that Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) can deliver a product capable of facing competition from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), or Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Just a couple of days ago, reports started to emerge that Twitter is considering to expand its 140-character limit to 10,000 characters. Even though, this move alone won’t be able to revamp Twitter’s sluggish growth rate, it could be a sign that Dorsey is capable to face the challenges ahead and attract the interest of investors.

So far, the sentiment towards Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) among the smart money investors is rather weak. Between July and September, the number of funds with long positions (among those tracked by Insider Monkey) slid to 27 from 47 and these funds amassed just 1.40% of the company’s outstanding stock at the end of September. By comparison, 128 investors held shares of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) at the end of the third quarter, amassing 3.50% of the company, compared to 133 funds a quarter earlier.