Why These 5 Stocks Are Taking One on the Chin Today

The markets are off to a weak start this morning amid disappointing earnings reports from tech giants and uncertainty around oil. Among the important stocks which are trading in the red today are Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL), United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL), Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB), and Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG). This article will discuss the reasons behind the declines in these stocks along with analyzing hedge fund sentiment towards each of them.

Starbucks Corporation Misses Estimates

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s stock has declined by more than 4% this morning after the company reported second quarter earnings after the closing bell yesterday. The coffee chain reported $0.39 per share in earnings on $4.99 billion in revenue, missing the consensus revenue estimate of $5.03 billion. Sales at shops open at least a year grew by 6%, missing the 6.7% growth estimate. The company recently changed its famous loyalty program, which is said to have dented its customer base. The program now rewards customers based on total money spent instead of number of purchases.

Out of nearly 800 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 61 funds held long positions in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) with a total value of approximately $1.80 billion at the end of 2015. David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management was one of the major stakeholders of the company as of March 31, with 187,068  shares.

American Airlines Reports Decline in Revenue

American Airlines Group Inc(NASDAQ:AAL)’s stock has plummeted by more than 6% after the company reported its first quarter earnings. The airline posted a profit of $1.25 per share, down from $1.73 per share in the first quarter of last year. The airline said that it continued to profit from the declining fuel prices, as its fuel costs plunged by 33% in the quarter. However, revenue declined by 4% to $9.33 billion, which included a 7.3% revenue decline in the Americas, which impacted the bottom-line results.

Our database of hedge funds shows that 76 hedge funds in our system held long positions in American Airlines Group Inc(NASDAQ:AAL) at the end of the fourth quarter, with a total value of approximately $2.00 billion.

We check out the latest quarterly results at another airline, as well as at two other companies on the next page.