Friday’s Biggest Movers: Kite Pharma, Lloyds Banking, MGT Capital, More

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The U.S markets are poised to conclude the week on a very bullish note, as stocks have jumped following the release of strong employment data, showing far more robust economic health than had been anticipated.

Investors are talking about several stocks in particular today, including MGT Capital Investments Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGT), Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE), SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ:LEDS), Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN), and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LYG). Let’s find out why these stocks are making noise today and see what the hedge funds that we track think of them.

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MGT Capital’s Reversal

After gaining heavily following the announcement of a large-scale Bitcoin mining operation last month, MGT Capital Investments Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGT) is down by 6.86% so far today.  MGT is set to launch a facility in central Washington State that will generate over two PetaHash in processing power and has an expansion capacity of up to nearly 10 PetaHash. MGT Capital’s stock has gained an eye-popping 1,704% in this year. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors owns 90,789 shares of MGT Capital Investments as of the end of March.

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Kite Pharma’s Ill-Timed Decision?

Investors are keenly watching Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE) following the FDA putting a hold on Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:JUNO)‘s Phase II study of a cancer drug after the death of two patients enrolled in the study. Just hours after this news, Kite Pharma announced that it had completed the enrollment of 72 patients for its Phase II trial of KTE-C19 for the treatment of lymphoma and leukemia. Analysts believe the move is an ill-timed and non-judicious one, as Kite Pharma’s trial will be under nearly the same setup as Juno Therapeutics’. Shares of Kite Pharma have already started feeling the heat, tanking by more than 9% since the opening bell today.

Among the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 23 were bullish on Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE) at the end of the first quarter. Leonard A. Potter’s Wildcat Capital Management was a notable hedge fund among them, with ownership of more than 2.35 million shares of the company.

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We will discuss the trading activity and investor interest in SemiLEDs, Resolute Energy and Lloyds Banking Group on the next page.

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