Trending Stocks: Diplomat Pharmacy, Facebook, Ariad Pharmaceuticals, and More

Although the broader markets are still down/flat due in large part to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s disappointing earnings report, the indexes have nevertheless made a comeback of sorts as the latest EIA numbers of a drop of 0.6 million barrels gave a boost to energy related names.

Among the other securities that are also capturing investors’ attention today are Diplomat Pharmacy Inc (NYSE:DPLO), Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), and Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA). Let’s analyze the various reasons each stock is trending and dig into SEC filings to determine hedge fund sentiment toward the stocks.

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Diplomat Pharmacy Inc (NYSE:DPLO) shares are down by 12% after the company announced that its CFO, Sean Whelan, will step down on December 31. In addition, Whelan will also relinquish his board seat at that time as well. Although Whelan cited wanting to spend more time with family as reason for his action, analyst David Larsen of Leerink said in a note that he thought the timing of the resignation seemed unusual and made him more cautious of the third quarter results due next week. Larsen is nevertheless bullish long term and maintains his ‘Outperform’ rating. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management cut its stake in Diplomat Pharmacy Inc (NYSE:DPLO) by 16% in the second quarter to 700,000 shares at the end of June.

Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) is in the green today after CLSA analyst Caroline Levy upgraded the consumer staple to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Underperform’. Levy also hiked her price target to $95 from $90, citing P&G’s solid long term growth prospects given management’s years of hardwork in shoring up efficiency in the giant. Levy estimates that P&G’s organic sales growth will clock in at 3-4% and its earnings growth will come in at 8-9% through 2018. Of the 749 funds we track, 56 amassed $5.54 billion worth of Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG)’s stock, which accounted for 2.50% of the float on June 30, versus 59 funds and $5.17 billion, respectively, on March 31.

On the next page, we examine AT&T, Facebook, and Ariad Pharmaceuticals.