A Closer Look at Five Stocks on the Move on Monday

U.S. stocks are mixed on Monday trading, as a spike in tech stocks countered the tumble in energy, driven by declining oil prices.

Among the stocks registering significant moves are Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL), Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IONS), TOP SHIPS Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS), MeetMe Inc (NASDAQ:MEET), and Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX). So, let’s take a look into the events behind said realignments, and into what the funds in our database think about the companies involved.

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Whiting Down With Oil

Let’s start with Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL), which is down 11.2%, driven by a 3.68% drop in WTI prices and a 3.33% tumble in Brent. The decline in oil prices was, in turn, caused by news about an increase in OPEC production, and a surge in the U.S. oil rig count. Over the first quarter of the year, hedge funds interest in Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) picked up, with the number of long positions in the stock rising to 43 at the end of March, up from 40 at the beginning of 2016. Among the largest shareholders of record was Debra Fine’s Fine Capital Partners, which last disclosed ownership of 9.68 million shares.

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Ionis Skyrockets On Nusinerse Data

Next up is Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IONS), which has gained more than 31% on Monday trading, following the announcement that nusinerse had met the primary endpoint for the interim analysis of ENDEAR, the Phase 3 trial assessing the drug in infantile-onset (consistent with Type 1) SMA. According to the data, infants that received nusinersen experienced a statistically significant amelioration in certain motor functions. Shares of Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), also involved in the development of the drug, are trading up by about 5%. A total of 15 funds among those we track were long Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IONS) at the end of March.

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Shares of MeetMe Inc (NASDAQ:MEET) have surged by nearly 13% after the company posted second quarter EPS of $0.09, beating the estimates by $0.04. Its revenue of $16.4 million surged by 48% on the year and topped analysts’ expectations by $1.13 million. The revenue growth was impacted by an 82% annual increase in mobile revenue, which also represented more than 90% of the total, while the number of mobile monthly active users went up by 32% to 4.84 million. Among the funds in our database, only eight reported stakes in the company as of the end of March, having amassed slightly over 11% of the company’s outstanding stock.

TOP SHIPS Thrives On Strong Results

TOP SHIPS Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS)’s stock has surged by nearly 160% following the company’s earnings release on Friday evening. For the first half of the year, the company posted EPS of $0.08 on revenue of $11.62 million, up by 147.2% year-over-year. For the same period last year, the firm had registered a net loss of $2.74 per share. None of the funds from our database held shares of TOP SHIPS heading into the second quarter, which is not surprising, since the company has a market cap of just $20 million (including today’s gains) and smart money investors tend to stay away from nano-cap stocks.

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Keryx Slips On Production Interruption

Finally, there’s Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX), which has plummeted more than 31% on Monday. Before the market opened, the company reported a second-quarter net loss of $0.42 per share, on revenue of $9.29 million, which came in $720,000 above expectations. However, management also said it had halted production of its only drug, citing “manufacturing issues.” In relation to this announcement, the company also withdrew its full-year guidance, and said the supply of the renal medication in question should be restored by October. At the end of March, 11 funds among those we track held about 1/3 of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX)’s float. Among them was Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group, which owned more than 25.79 million shares.

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