What Has Investors Excited About These 5 Stocks Today?

Shares of Can Fite Biopharma Ltd (ADR) (NYSEMKT:CANF) have gained 7% today after the company announced that its candidate drug CF602 showed positive results in achieving full recovery from erectile dysfunction. The company plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for CF602 in the fourth quarter. It will also start a Phase I trial after IND approval. The erectile dysfunction drug from the Israel-based biopharmaceutical company has huge potential, as PDE5 inhibitors, the drugs currently in widespread to treat erectile dysfunction, do not suit a wide range of patients and have thus failed to capture a significant market segment. None of the investors in our system held shares of Can Fite Biopharma Ltd (ADR) (NYSEMKT:CANF) on December 31.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF)’s stock has surged 6% today after Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation & Science published a bullish iron ore outlook on Friday afternoon. The department upgraded iron ore to $45 per metric ton for 2016, from $41.30 per ton. The gains today have pushed the stock to 116% gains for the year, after a very strong March helped by rising iron ore prices. Overall, 15 hedge funds out of those tracked by Insider Monkey held positions in Cliffs Natural Resources at the end of 2015. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies owned more than 6.00 million shares of the company at that time.

Lastly, Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS)’s stock has gained 3.5% today after Bloomberg reported that the holding company plans to sell approximately $14.8 billion worth of loans at its Italy segment. The move comes as the bank focuses on its investment and corporate banking operations overseas. The source quoted Alessandra Perrazzelli, Barclay’s Italy country chief, who said that the bank has started to dispose its performing and non-performing loans as the last step of the bank’s exit plan from the Italian retail business.

Out of the hedge funds in our system, 12 held long positions in Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) on December 31 with a total value of approximately $275.4 million. Billionaire Ken Fisher owns just over 20.00 million shares of the bank, accounting for the bulk of the collective investment in it among the firms that we monitor.

Disclosure: None