Why PepsiCo, Philip Morris, Fitbit, and Two Other Stocks Are Making Headlines Today

Traders are watching Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) after Pacific Crest analyst Brad Erickson lowered his rating on the stock to ‘Underweight’ from ‘Sector Weight’. Erickson said that channel checks show the company’s flagship Charge 2 product isn’t selling as well as expected as inventory is building and the sell-through isn’t as strong as initial Alta/Blaze levels. In the longer term, competition from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could also hurt. Erickson thinks the downside is around $11 per share. A total of 29 funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned $297.86 million worth of Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT)’s stock, which accounted for 11.20% of the float on June 30.

Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Capital Lp’s ‘tax planning’ moves continued in the energy patch, this time with the guru selling Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) to better optimize his payments for Uncle Sam. According to the latest regulatory filings, Icahn has cut his stake to 1.5% of the offshore driller (5.48 million shares), down from the previous 5.88% (see article). Despite cutting his stake, Icahn still has confidence in the management team going forward. Transocean is also in the spotlight due to yesterday’s tentative OPEC agreement to cut production to 32.5-33 million barrels per day, down from the current 33.4 million barrels per day. However, the final details will have to be worked out in late November. A total of 32 investors tracked by us were long Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) at the end of June, down by seven funds from the previous quarter.

Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSEMKT:ATNM) shares are down by around 21% after the company announced a proposed public offering of 8 million shares common stock at $1.25 a piece, in addition to granting underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the stock sold in the offering. None of the 749 top funds that we track held any shares in Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSEMKT:ATNM) at the end of the second quarter.

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