Why Anthem, Cigna, Fiat Chrysler, and Two Other Stocks Are Trending Today

All three major indexes are over 1% in the green in the pre-market on Monday as polls show increased support for the ‘Remain’ side of the Brexit vote on Thursday. If a Brexit doesn’t happen, the global economy can continue to recover and corporate earnings can remain robust.

Among the stocks trending today are Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM), CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU), Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS), and Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE:SIX). Let’s find out why traders are buzzing about these stocks and see what the funds from our database think about them.

While there are many metrics that investors can assess in the investment process, the hedge fund sentiment is something that is often overlooked. However, hedge funds and other institutional investors allocate significant resources while making their bets and their long-term focus makes them the perfect investors to emulate. This is supported by our research, which determined that following the small-cap stocks that hedge funds are collectively bullish on can help a smaller investor to beat the S&P 500 by around 95 basis points per month (see the details here).

M&A Hurdles to Clear in the Healthcare Sector

Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM) and CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) are trending today after the Wall Street Journal reported that antitrust regulators are skeptical about the merger of the two companies. The regulators specifically don’t think the two insurers can make enough concessions to ensure that competition remains beneficial to the consumer. Once completed, the merger between Cigna and Anthem would create the largest health insurer by members and yield substantial synergy opportunities. Due to the regulators’ skepticism, Anthem and CIGNA now expect a government decision on the merger by mid-July instead of the previous deadline, July 2. Without government support, the merger cannot go through and the two companies cannot unlock the synergies they hoped for. A total of 56 funds from our database owned $2.89 billion worth of Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM)’s stock and 61 funds owned $3.81 billion worth of CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI)’s stock at the end of March.

Fiat Chrysler Increases EV Efforts

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) is in the spotlight after Bloomberg reported that CEO Sergio Marchionne is weighing adding fully electric vehicles to its line-up for the European market. The company currently sells an EV in North America, but loses a minimum of $10,000 for every EV it sells due to stringent California rules. Bulls hope that technology will improve enough and the scale will be big enough for EV’s to be profitable even with the strict rules. At the end of March 28 funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned shares of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) at the end of the first quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter.

On the next page, we examine Cerus Corporation, and Six Flags Entertainment Corp.
Cerus Corporation Rises on Government Contract

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS)’s shares are 9% higher in the morning after the company said it had won a contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). According to the terms of the contract, Cerus will receive initial funding of up to $30,750,939 to support research and other activities concerning a clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of INTERCEPT RBCs versus conventional RBCs in Puerto Rico, a region impacted by the Zika virus. The funding will also support activities that might facilitate Phase 3 clinical trials in the United States. The contract has a duration of five years and includes additional option periods that, if exercised, could bring the total funding opportunity to around $180 million over five years. Among the funds we track, 13 were long Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) as of the end of March, up by three funds from the previous quarter.

Six Flags to Expand Internationally

Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE:SIX) is over 2% in the green today after the company announced it will open theme parks in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is determined to pivot away from oil, and having more service companies such as Six Flags in the country is always good for diversification. Among the funds we track, 27 funds owned $1.2 billion worth of Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE:SIX)’s stock, which accounted for 23.70% of the float on March 31, versus 28 funds and $1.18 billion, respectively, a quarter earlier.

Disclosure: none