Why These 5 Prominent Stocks Are Making Moves Today

Firm Downgrades PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) has declined by 0.47% today after two important investment firms expressed bearishness towards the beverage company. Financial services holding company Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Pepsi to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ over valuation concerns. The firm also showed concerns over a lack of growth factors. Susquehanna also reiterated its rating of ‘Hold’ on Pepsi, citing the underperformance of the beverage company in the U.S. PepsiCo is set to announce its quarterly earnings report on next week.

A total of 58 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) at the end of the fourth quarter, with the total value of their investments coming in at $6.7 billion. Nelson Peltz‘s Trian Partners owned more than 18.31 million shares of the company as of December 31.

No Evidence of Fraud Found at SunEdison

Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE)’s stock has skyrocketed by more than 70% after independent directors of an audit counsel announced that they didn’t find sufficient evidence for fraud or “willful misconduct” by the company’s management in relation to its financial statements. However, the counsel identified a lack of sufficient controls and processes and overly optimistic cash forecasts as some weaknesses in its overall management practices. The investigation also found evidence of wrongdoing by one of the company’s former employees regarding negotiations to terminate its acquisition of Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR). The solar company’s stock has plunged by more than 90% since the start of the year. This month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE) may be preparing to file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks.

50 funds among those that we track had amassed around 31.80% of Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE)’s outstanding stock as of the end of 2015. Among them was activist David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, which owned approximately 18.61 million shares of the company.

JP Morgan Optimistic on Chipotle

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) have gained more than 3.30% after JP Morgan expressed positive sentiment for the company today. The investment bank upgraded its rating on the company to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’ and set a target price of $510 on the stock. JP Morgan analyst John Ivankoe said that investors can expect an earnings recovery at Chipotle because it is a highly “meaningful” brand that is regaining customer trust. He also predicted annual 20% earnings per share growth for the company through 2020.

Out of the 785 hedge funds in our database, 39 funds held positions in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) at the end of the fourth quarter, with a total value of around $1.1 billion. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global held ownership of approximately 689,000 shares of the company on December 31.

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