Five Stocks on the Move Today Amid a Mixed Market

The US stock market is mixed, but relatively flat on Wednesday, following Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s dovish message on interest rates, and ahead of tomorrow’s Brexit vote, which now seems like it will resolve toward a “Stay”.

Among individual stocks, Prana Biotechnology Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:PRAN), Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) and Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE) are registering noteworthy moves. So, let’s take a look into the events behind the moves of these stocks, and into what the funds in our database think about the companies in question.

While there are many metrics that investors can assess in the investment process, the hedge fund sentiment is something that is often overlooked. However, hedge funds and other institutional investors allocate significant resources while making their bets and their long-term focus makes them the perfect investors to emulate. This is supported by our research, which determined that following the small-cap stocks that hedge funds are collectively bullish on can help a smaller investor to beat the S&P 500 by around 95 basis points per month (see the details here).

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Prana Spikes On PBT2 Data

Let’s start with Prana Biotechnology Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:PRAN), an Australian-based nano cap that is trading up almost 9% on Wednesday afternoon. The spike was triggered by the announcement of new data from the company’s Phase 2 clinical trial, REACH2HD, which evaluated its lead product candidate PBT2 in patients with Huntington’s disease. According to the report, 90% of the patients that self-reported an amelioration in their thinking were taking the PBT2 treatment. As many nano caps, Prana Biotechnology Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:PRAN) is not particularly popular among institutional investors and none of the funds tracked by us held shares of the company at the end of March.

Kors Teams Up With McLaren-Honda F1

Next up is Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS), whose stock is in the spotlight following the announcement of a new partnership with the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 team. Under the terms of the agreement, Kors will become the lifestyle partner of the McLaren-Honda team. This partnership will strengthen and amplify “both brands’ embodiment of a fast, jet-set lifestyle,” a press releasestated. In addition, the alliance should help further introduce the Kors brand in the European market. Over the first quarter, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS) saw the number of hedge funds in our database long its stock surge by 33% to 36, while the aggregate value of their positions was equal to around 10% of the company’s total shares, with David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital holding more than 3.3% of the float by itself. Greenlight’s position comprised 6.75 million shares, worth roughly $384 million at the end of March.

On the next page we will take a look into three other stocks posting important moves on Wednesday trading.

AMD Giving Up Tuesday’s Gains

Among Wednesday’s big decliners was Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), which has lost more than 8% today, giving up the 6.86% gain posted on Tuesday. Volume was above average, although no significant news seem to be behind the drop. A total of 13 funds among those we track were long Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) at the end of the first quarter of 2016. Among them were D E Shaw, which held 4.68 million shares. and Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, which disclosed ownership of 794,400 shares.

EIA Crude Inventories Data Hurts Marathon

Shares of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) are trading down on Wednesday, in what seems to be a general decline in the oil industry following the release of U.S. crude inventories data. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude inventories declined by 900,000 barrels over last week, falling short of expectations of a drop of some 1.6 million barrels. Nonetheless, the American Petroleum Institute, said on late Tuesday that U.S. crude stockpiles slipped by 5.2 million barrels. One way or another, crude prices turned red following the release of the EIA report, and are now trading below $50 per barrel again. Among the funds we track, 33 were long Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) at the end of the first quarter of 2016, up from 27 in the previous quarter. Among the newcomers were Stuart J. Zimmer’s Zimmer Partners, which acquired more than 14 million shares (or about $156 million in stock) during the first quarter, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, which initiated a stake comprising 10.33 million shares over the January-March period.

Cobalt International Energy Also Hit By EIA Data

Finally, there’s Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE), which has also tumbled, about 5%, on Wednesday, following the release of the EIA crude inventories data. Gene McGillian, an analyst at Tradition Energy explained that, “the disappointment on the lack of a sizable draw in crude stocks has taken some wind out of the market’s sails.” Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE) counted 25 funds in our database holding shares at the end of March. Their stakes accounted for more than 30% of the company’s float at the time.

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