Here Is Why Investors Are Talking Transportation and Tech Stocks Today

It’s been a rocky week for U.S. stocks, with various economic data weighing on investors, as well as the developments in oil prices. The main event, however, was the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates for the first time since 2006. As investors are digesting the news, let’s take a look at four stocks that are trending today: Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO).

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We’ll start with Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX), one of the largest U.S. truckload transportation companies, which has lowered its 2015 fourth quarter guidance. The company said it now expects fourth quarter earnings to range between $0.31 and $0.33 per share as opposed to previous projections of $0.36 to $0.38 in earnings per share. Reduced non-contract opportunities and increased capacity have led to a decrease in total revenue per mile. The company also said it registered a higher driver pay inflation, which was triggered by wage increases in certain segments.

At the end of the third quarter, a little over 4% of Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX)’s common stock was held by 19 funds from our database, down from 22 at the end of June. Robert Rodriguez And Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors holds the largest stake in the company among the hedge funds we follow. In its latest 13F filing, the fund reported 1.01 million shares valued at $24.2 million.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has made headlines today, after reports emerged that the e-commerce giant is looking to enter the air delivery business. According to The Seattle Times, Amazon is negotiating the lease of 20 Boeing 767 jets to reduce dependence on traditional carriers and avoid potential delays that have plagued the 2013 holiday season. Robert W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said Amazon sees third party carriers as a “bottleneck to their development,” having failed to adapt to the rapid rise of e-commerce.

Hedge fund sentiment towards Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) improved during the third quarter, as the number of positions reported by elite funds rose to 113 from 103 a quarter earlier. Tiger Cub Chase Coleman is betting big on Amazon, having boosted his stake by 328% during the quarter. In its latest quarterly report, Tiger Global Management reported ownership of 3.19 million shares valued at $1.63 billion.

It’s not everyday that you hear Goldman Sachs say it was wrong. Well, it has happened today; the firm announced it made a mistake downgrading Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to ‘Sell’ and has now upgraded the stock to ‘Neutral’ with a price target of $57 per share. In a 22-page research note, Goldman has analyzed the transition of the iconic software company to cloud-based services and the changes made to its latest versions of Windows operating system and Office software, praising the way the new management has executed the transition plan.

The Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) fan club gained six more members from the hedge fund world during the third quarter, with 113 top funds reportedly holding stakes in the software giant. Activist investor Jeffrey Ubben is heavily invested in Microsoft, holding 75.3 million shares reportedly worth $3.33 billion at the end of September. Stephen Mandel chose to reduce his exposure, trimming his position by 5%. In its latest 13F filing, Lone Pine Capital reported holding 25.3 million shares valued at $1.12 billion.

Activists are stepping up their efforts to force Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) to abandon plans of spinning off its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) and sell the core business instead. Jeffrey Smith‘s Starboard Value started the avalanche in November, having asked the management to revise its decision to sell its stake in Alibaba due to tax concerns. Joshua Friedman and Mitchell Julis, the managers of Canyon Capital Advisors has stated its support for Starboard’s initiative, according to a letter sent to Yahoo’s board of directors. Analysts are speculating that activists could go as far as a proxy battle, as rumors surfaced that several board members would be open to a change of management. With the stock down by 34% year to date, the remaining shareholders could rally to support the activist efforts, according to Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group.

Jeffrey Smith more than doubled his investment in Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), taking it to 7.1 million shares worth $205 million during the third quarter. Canyon Capital Advisors has also reported an increase in its holding to 5.68 million shares valued at $164 million. Yahoo lost some of its appeal during the quarter, with the number of top hedge funds invested in the company decreasing to 89 from 104. Together they held roughly 20% of the company’s common stock.

Disclosure: none.