Why These Five Stocks Are Trending on Monday

Shares of Zafgen Inc (NASDAQ:ZFGN) are trading up by approximately 9%, after the company announced positive data from its phase 3 bestPWS trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of its obesity drug Beloranib in Prader-Willi Syndrome patients. According to the data, the drug “was associated with improvement in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and other cardiometabolic risk factors, and a reduction in fat mass when compared to placebo.”

A total of 12 funds, among those we track, held long positions in Zafgen Inc (NASDAQ:ZFGN) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015. Their combined stakes accounted for 12.5% of the company’s outstanding shares. James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management was the largest shareholder in our database, with 843,665 shares; however, on February 11, Flynn disclosed an increase of the fund’s stake in Zafgen to 2.99 million shares, or almost 11% of the company.

Next up is Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW), whose stock has gained more than 17% since the bell rang on Monday morning. The spike was driven by news that the company’s alternative heart-valve procedure, which is less invasive than open-heart surgery, was not only not inferior to the latter, but even superior in some cases. In fact, all cause mortality or stroke rates were inferior in Sapien patients than in open-heart surgery patients at the two-year mark. Interestingly, analysts at JP Morgan classified the procedure as “game changing.”

Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) saw the support of 37 funds in our database by December 31. However, hedge fund ownership was not very large; only 4% of the company’s outstanding stock is held by these firms. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management held the largest stake, comprising 3.11 million shares, worth $245 million by the end of the year.

Finally, we’ve got PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM), whose stock has decreased more than 7% on the announcement that chairman and chief executive officer Richard Dugas Jr will retire in May 2017, partly due to pressures from the company’s founder Bill Pulte and his grandson Jim Grosfeld, who are both part of the Board of Directors. Pulte and his grandson “recently demanded an immediate CEO change and a different direction for the company,” a company statement explained.

Overall, 24 funds in our database were long PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) at the end of the fourth quarter. However, once again, their stakes were not very large, and accounted for just 6.6% of the company’s stock. A noteworthy position was owned by ClearBridge, which last declared holding 6.63 million shares.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.