Why Facebook, Alphabet, Enable Midstream Partners, and Two Other Stocks Are in Spotlight

Although domestic durable goods orders rose 4.8% for the month of October versus a 0.4% rise in September, the broader markets are slightly in the red today as many traders prepare for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. In this article, let’s find out why traders are talking about Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), Enable Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:ENBL), and Diplomat Pharmacy Inc (NYSE:DPLO) and let’s analyze hedge fund sentiment towards the stocks using 13F filings.

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Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is in the spotlight after Reuters reported that the internet conglomerate is close to a tax settlement with Indonesia’s government concerning the last five years. After initially facing the prospect of a bill of over $400 million in fines and back taxes for 2015 (if it were found culpable), the news agency reports that a settlement could occur within the next few weeks and could resolve Google’s back tax and fines in the country for presumably a smaller amount. Although it removes uncertainty, some analysts fear that the settlement could cause more countries to ask for more in taxes from the company as well. Natixis Global Asset Management‘s Harris Associates owned 2.3 million shares of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Class C shares at the end of September, up 9% from the end of June.

Traders are keeping a close eye on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) after news broke that the company has been working on an experimental internal tool to suppress certain posts in certain regions. Although Facebook has not rolled the tool out, traders believe the social network is developing the software in hopes of gaining access to the crucial China market, where the government censors some content. If Facebook can gain access to China, the company’s growth prospects would benefit. Of the 742 funds in our database, the number of funds with stakes in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) inched up by one sequentially to 149 at the end of the third quarter.

On the next page, we examine Twitter, Enable Midstream Partners LP, and Diplomat Pharmacy.

Although it doesn’t affect the social network’s fundamentals by much, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) suffered an embarrassing snafu after CEO Jack Dorsey’s twitter account was briefly suspended last night. While the stock’s volatility has calmed down a bit, many traders are still wondering how the social network will unlock value for shareholders. A total of 47 funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) at the end of September, up by 17 funds from the end of June.

Enable Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:ENBL) shares are 8% in the red after the company priced an underwritten offering of 10 million units at $14 per unit. In addition, the company has also granted underwriters a 30 day option to buy up to an additional 1.5 million units. Enable expects to use the net proceeds of $136 million for general partnership purposes. Four investors from our database were long Enable Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:ENBL) at the end of September.

Diplomat Pharmacy Inc (NYSE:DPLO) is 3% in the red after Credit Suisse analyst Robert Willoughby downgraded the stock to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Neutral’ and trimmed his target to $13 per share from $18. The analyst downgraded the stock on the back of worries over the pharmacy chain’s slowing organic growth and profit challenges. Willoughby also doesn’t think that management has a clear plan to improve ROIC yet. At the end of September, 12 investors followed by our team held long positions in Diplomat Pharmacy Inc (NYSE:DPLO), versus nine funds at the end of the second quarter.

Disclosure: None