What Is Going On With These Falling Stocks?

After opening flat and falling into the red, the broader markets are now in the green this afternoon as investors weigh the overall positive start to earnings season. Among the shares that haven’t rallied back into the green today however, are Chiasma Inc (NASDAQ:CHMA), BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI), LG Display Co Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:LPL), Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MACK), and Agrium Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AGU). Let’s find out what is going on with each stock and see how world-class investors were positioned in them heading into this year.

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Micro-Cap falls on Bearish Article

Chiasma Inc (NASDAQ:CHMA) is off by 13.3% this afternoon after The Street’s Adam Feuerstein published a bearish article on the stock. Mr. Feuerstein wrote:

“One of my most reliable (and bearish) investor sources believes the FDA will reject the Chiasma capsules, known as Mycapssa, because data from the company’s pivotal, single-arm study failed to demonstrate a clinically meaningful benefit for acromegaly patients.”

The source that Mr. Feuerstein referenced is shorting Chiasma. On the other hand, Cowen biotech analyst Ritu Baral is taking the opposite stance and believes Mycapssa will be approved. Mycapssa’s PDUFA date for the treatment of acromegaly is tomorrow. Three elite funds on our database held 3.4% of Chiasma Inc (NASDAQ:CHMA)’s float at the end of 2015.

Blogger Writes Negative Article on BofI

BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI) has retreated by 13% on the back of a bearish Seeking Alpha article named ‘The Walls Are Closing In On The Branchless Bank’. The writer notes that a recent securities fraud lawsuit shows almost one dozen former employees making new allegations against BofI. Although the increased number of accusers could make life difficult for the company, the number of elite funds in BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI) increased to 22 during the fourth quarter, from 13 at the end of September, so top investors were growing more bullish on the company. Jim Simons‘ Renaissance Technologies owned over 1.2 million BofI shares at the end of 2015.

On the next page, we examine why LG Display Co, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, and Agrium Inc are all sliding today.