Why These 5 Stocks Are Big Gainers Today

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Even though oil continues to plummet, the market is rebounding on Tuesday, with all major U.S stock indexes trading up. Among the stocks driving said gains are Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX), ContraVir Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CTRV), Virgin America Inc (NASDAQ:VA), Cleco Corporation (NYSE:CNL), and Ambarella Inc (NASDAQ:AMBA). Let’s take a look into the events behind the spikes in these companies’ shares, and see what the funds in our database think about these stocks.

Our research determined that following the small-cap stocks that hedge funds are collectively bullish on can help a smaller investor beat the S&P 500 by around 95 basis points per month (see more details here).

Let’s start with Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX), which is up by more than 14% in the early afternoon. The spike was a reaction to the company’s announcement that its Phase 3 study of Ferric Citrate for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adults with non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease generated positive top line results.

Follow Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KERX)

Among the funds that we track, 11 disclosed long stakes in Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX) as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2015. On December 31 these firms held about 1/3 of the company’s total shares. The fund poised to reap the largest benefits was Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group, the largest institutional investor of record at that time with 25.79 million shares valued at $130 million.

Next up is ContraVir Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CTRV), which is trading up by roughly 19.5% on Tuesday afternoon, following the announcement of positive results from a study of CMX157, a hepatitis B virus treatment. Results confirmed CMX157’s increased effectiveness versus other tenofovir prodrugs, including tenofovir DF (Viread®), and provided the first direct comparison to tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF). “The study findings revealed that CMX157 and TAF were similarly potent against hepatitis B virus (HBV), with CMX157 trending toward higher potency… Furthermore, viral rebound studies showed that CMX157 demonstrates best-in-class duration of activity,” a press release declared.

Follow Hepion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA)

No hedge funds in our database were long ContraVir Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CTRV) as of the end of the fourth quarter. However, the company counted the support of at least 32 other institutional investors on December 31.

Head to the next page for a breakdown of the big gains seen in three other stocks today.

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