Why Facebook, Pandora, and Three Other Companies Are Making Headlines Today

The markets are calm this morning as volatility in the market has retreated somehow. Although September is a month notorious for big sell-offs, many bulls are hopeful that this year it will be different as the Fed could potentially remain accommodative.

Among the stocks trending this Thursday morning are Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (NASDAQ:GT), Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA). Let’s dive in and take a closer look at the five companies and see how the smart money investors from our database are positioned towards them.

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Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (NASDAQ:GT) is in the spotlight after the company hiked its quarterly dividend by 43% to $0.1 per share. In addition, the management set a financial target of attaining up to $5 billion in free cash flow through 2020 and to return up to $4 billion of that to shareholders. Goodyear’s management also reaffirmed previously-announced 2016 financial targets. Given the low oil prices, consumers are driving more and tires are wearing out faster. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson‘s Adage Capital Management owned almost 8.5 million shares in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (NASDAQ:GT) at the end of June, up by 29% from the end of March.

Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) shares are in the green today after the internet music streamer introduced Pandora Plus, the company’s improved version of its original Pandora One product. In contrast to Pandora One’s limited number of skips, Pandora Plus will allow users to skip unlimited songs and includes an offline mode that will help users listen to music if their connection disconnects. Pandora bulls hope the product can help the company win market share against Spotify, one of the current market leaders. Moreover, lately some bulls also have expressed hope that Pandora eventually sells itself. A total of 46 funds from our database had a bullish position in Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) at the end of the second quarter, up by 11 funds from the previous quarter.

On the next page, we find out why Domino’s Pizza, Facebook, and Boeing Co are trending.

Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) are making headlines after Domino’s Pizza allowed its customers in the United States to order pizza for the first time through Facebook Messenger, which has advanced bot technology that helps interpret the orders. E-commerce through bots is an important emerging growth sector for Facebook as the social media company continues its efforts to monetize both its massive user-base and its large market share in messaging. Similarly, allowing customers to place orders more conveniently through Facebook Messenger could be a boon for Domino’s Pizza and boost the company’s sales and cash flow. The number of investors we track with holdings in Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) rose by one quarter-over-quarter to 33 at the end of June, while the number of funds bullish on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) retreated by 16 to 148.

In Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) management’s quest to control costs, one of the things to go is generous overtime pay hours. Starting mid-October, Boeing will be trimming the paid overtime for many of its employees as growth for the company slows in various sectors. Shares of the company are down by 9.4% year-to-date as the U.S. remains hesitant to go overboard on defense spending. A total of 40 funds from our database owned shares of Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) at the end of June, up by three funds from the previous quarter.

Disclosure: none