Why Investors Are Buzzing About Apple, Alibaba, Netflix, and 2 Other Stocks Today

With the FOMC meeting tomorrow and the release of the jobless claims figures on Thursday, the price action of the main indexes could be more volatile than usual for the remainder of this week. Among the stocks in the spotlight today are Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:YGE), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). Let’s find out why each stock is attracting attention and see what the smart money thinks of them.

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Apple’s Developer Conference Has People Talking

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced several major changes during the first day of its annual developer conference, WWDC. Among the new changes is Apple opening Siri and Apple Maps up to third-party developers, the company bringing Siri to the Mac, and iOS providing support for advanced notifications. Seeing as iPhone sales have declined for the first time since its introduction in 2007, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) bulls hope the software changes will reinvigorate demand for the flagship phone and give Apple momentum in the coming artificial intelligence race. Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management owned 11.3 million Apple shares at the end of March. Those shares are 0.3% in the green this morning.

Alibaba Sees Strong Growth Ahead

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) shares are 2% higher today after the company put out a statement guiding for around 6.00 trillion Yuan, or $912 billion, in GMV in fiscal 2020. The GMV number is almost twice as much as Alibaba’s 3.09 trillion Yuan in GMV for fiscal year 2016. In addition, Alibaba expects to have 2.00 billion customers by 2036, more than quadruple the company’s current active buyer base of 423 million. 67 funds in our database were long Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) as of the most recent 13F reporting period, down by ten funds from the end of the previous quarter.

On the next page we examine why investors are abuzz about Yingli Green Energy Holding, McDonald’s, and Netflix this morning.

Yingli Reports Earnings

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:YGE) shares have surged by 15% out of the gate after the solar producer reported earnings of $0.06 per share on revenue of $364.6 million, beating estimates by $0.12 per share and $10.62 million respectively. The positive quarterly earnings report marked the first time that the company has been profitable since the third quarter of 2011. One reason for the better than expected earnings was higher shipments to Japan, which has higher average selling prices due to various government support programs. Japanese shipments accounted for 40% of shipments for the quarter, up by ten percentage points from the previous quarter. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:YGE) expects the strong demand from Japan to continue in 2016, before Japan’s announced reduction of subsidies for PV power takes effect in April, 2017.

McDonald’s to Move its HQ

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is in the spotlight after the fast-food chain announced that it will move its corporate headquarters to downtown Chicago by Spring, 2018. The company will move to 1045 W. Randolph St. in Chicago’s West Loop area to foster more collaboration and connectivity. McDonald’s new headquarters will be one of the seven global locations for Hamburger University, a state-of-the-art learning center where McDonald’s trains its future leaders and employees. 83 elite funds that we track were long McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) at the end of the first quarter.

Netflix Shareholders Ask for Proxy Access

In a non-binding ballot vote at the company’s annual meeting, 72% of votes cast asked Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) to grant investors proxy access so that groups of investors who own small percentages of the company for three years can run their own candidates for board seats. Netflix management has resisted calls for the change in the past and it is unclear whether they will adopt the request now. 64 funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) at the end of the first quarter, unchanged from a quarter earlier. Shares of the video streaming service provider are up by 1.3% in morning trading.

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