Why These Five Stocks Are Trending Today

Barron’s Article Sends Mortgage Insurers Up

Shares of MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) are trading up about 4% on Monday afternoon, apparently helped by a Barron’s article that argued that mortgage-insurance stocks could carry an upside of 50%, “riding a strong housing mark et and fewer defaults.” Moreover, the experts stated, the recent earnings beat suggests there could be plenty of upside to come in the following moths. MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) counted 37 hedge fund supporters in our database by the end of the first quarter. Among them was John Paulson’s Paulson & Co, with 149.5 million shares – in the form of a bond, valued at $188.2 million by March 31.

Exxon Mobil Down On Tumbling Oil and Potential JV

On the other hand, shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) are trading down about 1.8% as crude prices slide – more than 2.5%- and the company considers a joint venture with Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. to construct a major petrochemicals complex on the Texas or Louisiana Gulf Coast. The idea is to harness the cheap and abundant natural gas resources available in the U.S. right now. A total of 60 funds among those we track were long Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) at the end of March.

Ritter Pharmaceuticals Skyrockets On No Particular News

Finally, there’s Ritter Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RTTR), which has risen almost 19% on Monday trading, even though no particular news surfaced. As most nano caps, Ritter Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RTTR) does not count of many hedge fund supporters. In fact, only three firms among those we track held long positions in the company at the end of the first quarter. The largest of them was owned by Kevin Kotler‘s Broadfin Capital, which last declared holding 778,000 shares of the company.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.