Why Apple, Southwest Airlines, Polycom, And More Are Making Headlines Today

While global markets are bearish this morning on concerns over the world economy after the World Bank cut its 2016 global growth forecast to 2.4% from 2.9%, U.S stocks are up on positive sentiment about the country’s economy. Several stocks are making headlines today, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Polycom Inc (NASDAQ:PLCM), Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV), Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY), and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (NYSE:JEC). Let’s see why these stocks are in the spotlight today and analyze what the hedge funds in our database think of them.

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Apple Raises $1.38 Billion

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up moderately this morning, pushing its gains to 1.5% this week. Among other news bites, Reuters reported that Apple has raised $1.38 billion from its first bond sale in Taiwan. Apple’s sale of the 30-year bond will list on June 22. The source added that Apple priced the bond at a yield of 4.15%, below the indicative range of 4.2% to 4.3%.

As of the end of first quarter 2016, 152 hedge funds in our system were long Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), owning approximately $14.8 billion worth of its shares. Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management has the biggest stake among those investors, with ownership of more than 11 million shares.

Polycom Receives Revised Buyout Offer

Polycom Inc (NASDAQ:PLCM)’s stock has gained more than 2% in morning trading after the company revealed that it has received a revised buyout offer from a potential suitor that had previously submitted a bid. Polycom has already agreed to be bought by Canadian telecommunications company Mitel Networks Corporation (NASDAQ:MITL) in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $11.96 per share as of Tuesday’s close. The latest offer by the unidentified private equity firm has valued the California-based video conferencing equipment maker at $12.25 per share.

Out of 766 active funds in our database, 22 were shareholders of Polycom Inc (NASDAQ:PLCM) as of the end of March. Paul Singer’s Elliott Management owns more than $8.8 million worth of the company’s shares.

Head to the next page to see why Southwest Airlines, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, and Jacobs Engineering are making moves today.

Southwest Airlines Posts Impressive Data for May

Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) is in the spotlight today after it reported 10.86 billion revenue passenger miles in May, a 6.4% increase compared to May 2015. The Texas-based airliner also reported a load factor of 85.8% for the month, up from 84.4% in May 2015. The company expects a “modest increase” in its second quarter operating revenue per ASM (RASM) based on these results. 58 hedge funds that we track had stakes in Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) as of March 31, worth approximately $2.6 billion. John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Limited had the biggest of those stakes, amounting to more than 16 million shares.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Beats Estimates

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) has jumped by 6.87% this morning after reporting better than expected first quarter of fiscal year 2016 results yesterday after the market close. The Dallas, Texas-based restaurant and entertainment company posted EPS of $0.72, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59. Revenue for the quarter came in at $262 million, topping the estimated $251.42 million. For the full 2016 fiscal year ended January 29, 2017, the company expects revenue of $983 million-to-$995 million, up from the prior guidance of $967 million-to-$987 million. Steve Pei’s Gratia Capital was one of the 26 hedge funds in our database which held shares of Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) as of March 31.

Jacobs Engineering Wins Mining Contract

Investors are watching Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (NYSE:JEC) today after it won the main contract to build Rio Tinto plc (ADR) (NYSE:RIO)‘s $5.3 billion underground project at its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia. In a statement, Jacobs Engineering’s CEO Steve Demetriou said that the company is proud to be associated with the landmark project in Oyu Tolgoi, one of the biggest mining projects in the world.

Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management owns 386,155 shares of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (NYSE:JEC) as of March 31. It was one of 17 hedge funds in our database which were long the company as of the end of March.

Disclosure: None