Why Are These Four Stocks Surging on Wednesday?

Four stocks from the retail, finance and technology segments are rallying on Wednesday, amid strong moves in the main indices. Let’s take a look at the factors which have led to the performance of these companies and see what is the sentiment toward them among the funds from our database.

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Milwaukee-based supermarket operator Roundy’s Inc. (NYSE:RNDY) made a big leap on Wednesday, with a 58.93% gain since the opening bell. The positive investor sentiment followed after Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) announced plans to acquire Roundy’s Inc. (NYSE:RNDY) in an $800 million deal, including debt, or $3.60 per share. To execute the agreement, Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) will launch a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Roundy’s common stock. Shares of Roundy’s Inc. (NYSE:RNDY) common stock which are not acquired will be sold to Kroger in a subsequent merger, the companies said in a joint statement. According to our database, 33 out of 730 funds in our database held 2.80% of the Roundy’s Inc. (NYSE:RNDY)’s outstanding stock at the end of June. Among them, billionaire quant Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, reported holding 1.74 million shares of Roundy’s as of the end of June; Renaissance more than doubled the stake over the quarter.

On the following page we are going to discuss the developments behind the appreciation of Amira Nature Foods Ltd. (NYSE:ANFI), Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:MFG), and Alarm.Com Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM). 

Amira Nature Foods Ltd. (NYSE:ANFI) rallied by 50.58% in above-average trading, following investigation results of a third-party entity which cleared the company of allegations related to its transactions. The accusing party, Prescience Point, which is a research group, has made several fraud claims against Amira Nature Foods Ltd. (NYSE:ANFI). The accused party’s shares have tanked from $12 to less than $3 amid the issues. In a Form 6-K filed November 10, the company said BDO LLP, the investigator, “has independently concluded that these allegations are unsubstantiated and/or unfounded.” Seven funds in our database collectively held 2.00% of the company’s outstanding stock.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:MFG) inched up 1.20% with more than 15 million shares traded, a day after Moody’s affirmed the stable rating outlook of its Trust & Custody Service Bank Ltd. subsidiary. Moody’s Japan K.K. affirmed the subsidiary’s ratings driven by an “assumption of ‘very high’ probability of support from Mizuho Financial Group,” the ratings agency said. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:MFG) has a 54% ownership in Trust & Custody. However, among the funds from our database the sentiment towards Mizuho Financial Group is weak with just eight investors reporting stakes in the company as of the end of June. Kevin D. Eng’s Columbus Hill Capital Management initiated a stake containing 4.95 million shares of Mizuho Financial Group during the second quarter.

Cloud service provider for the home Alarm.Com Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM) jumped by 9.15% in active trading, after it reported that it turned to profit in the third quarter. The company posted an adjusted EBITDA of $9.7 million for the third quarter, compared to $5.1 million in the third quarter of last year. Meanwhile, the non-GAAP adjusted net income grew to $6.6 million in the third quarter of 2015, compared to $3.7 million from the prior-year period. In Alarm.com, 11 investors among those we follow held long positions amassing 3.20% of the company at the end of the second quarter.

Disclosure: none