Why Are These Stocks Making Big Friday Moves?

With the markets getting squashed yet again as crude breaks below $30 per barrel and the VIX threatens to rally, Textura Corp (NYSE:TXTR), Resource Capital Corp. (NYSE:RSO), Qiwi PLC (NASDAQ:QIWI), and Digital Ally, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGLY) are among today’s most volatile equities. In this article, we will examine the catalysts causing investors to buy and sell these stocks and check out how hedge funds have been trading them according to the latest available data.

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Textura Corp (NYSE:TXTR) is almost 18% lower after analysts at Benchmark Co. downgraded the stock to ‘Sell’ from ‘Buy’. Adding to today’s selling pressure is the fact that the NASDAQ index is off by more than 3.33% in afternoon trading as many investors go into ‘risk off’ mode. There wasn’t any panic among the smart money crowd during the likewise-turbulent third quarter however, as hedge fund sentiment around Textura Corp (NYSE:TXTR) was constant. The number of elite funds long the company remained unchanged at six quarter-over-quarter as of September 30. Among the top shareholders was Cliff Asness‘ quant fund AQR Capital Management, which owned 8,410 shares at the end of September.

Resource Capital Corp. (NYSE:RSO), an REIT focused on underwriting, originating, and investing in transitional commercial real estate mortgage loans, is deep in the red today as negative sentiment causes traders to sell. Given the dividend yield of over 17%, some investors don’t think Resource Capital Corp. (NYSE:RSO)’s payout is sustainable and are heading toward the exits as a precaution. The REIT already trimmed its quarterly dividend last quarter, to $0.42 from the previous $0.64.

According to our system data, hedge funds were bearish on Resource Capital in the third quarter. A total of seven funds reported stakes worth $7.72 million (representing 2.10% of the float) in the stock as of the end of September, down from 11 funds with $9.42 million in shares at the end of June.

On the next page we examine the latest news and action concerning Qiwi PLC and Digital Ally Inc.

Russian online payments leader Qiwi PLC (NASDAQ:QIWI) is off by 12% today as the impact of low oil prices hits home for many traders. Because crude prices have fallen by 5% this afternoon, investors worry that the Russian Ruble will depreciate and that the Russian economy will contract. If the Ruble depreciates, Qiwi’s earnings will be lower in dollar terms, while if the Russian economy contracts, the transactions through Qiwi’s platform could fall too. All-in-all, Qiwi’s earnings results could be worse than expected if present trends continue.

According to our extensive database, the smart money was cutting its exposure to Qiwi PLC (NASDAQ:QIWI) in the third quarter. The number of elite shareholders of Qiwi fell to eight at the end of September from ten at the end of June, while the value of their holdings dropped by almost half, to $81.57 million from $152 million.

Wrapping up our list of movers is Digital Ally, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGLY), whose shares are pleasantly up by 7.13% in afternoon trading. Traders are buying because the United States Patent Office has affirmed the validity of Digital Ally’s ‘292 patent over auto-activation technology for law enforcement body cameras. The patent affirmation will help Digital Ally, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGLY)’s case against TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR) over potential infringement concerning TASER’s Axon Signal technology.

Disclosure: None