Here Is Why These Four Stocks Stand Out from the Crowd on Tuesday

All major U.S. stock indexes slide into negative territory in early trading on Tuesday, after having registered losses of over 1% on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down into negative territory for the year this Monday, mainly owing to the increasing odds of seeing the Federal Reserve raise interest rates this year and growing worries about the sluggish global economy. Even so, there are several stocks that are pushing stock indexes higher today, so it is worthwhile to take a look at what has investors excited about these stocks. So let’s proceed with the discussion of the firm-specific news at four companies that have propelled investor interest.

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Let’s start out by looking at what has pushed Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK)’s shares higher in today’s trading session. The biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company released stronger-than-expected financial results for the third quarter after the market close on Monday. The company reported consolidated revenues of $143.0 million, compared to $19.8 million reported in 2014. Its diluted earnings per share came to $0.25, compared with a net loss per share of $0.11 posted last year. Analysts had previously anticipated a net loss per share of $0.02 on revenues of $132.99 million. Following the release of this promising earnings report, the shares of Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) have gained over 5% thus far in today’s trading session and are up nearly 5% year-to-date. The number of hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey with stakes in the company increased to 30 from 17 during the second quarter, hoarding 2.00% of its outstanding shares. Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management acquired a 755,622-share stake in Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) during the June quarter.

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Moving on to the next winner of today’s session, Ocata Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:OCAT) has seen its stock skyrocket by 88% so far. This surge comes after the Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma announced an all-cash agreement on Monday to acquire Ocata Therapeutics at a price of $8.50 per share. The Boards of Directors of the two companies approved the agreement; hence, Astellas is set to purchase Ocata through its wholly-owned subsidiary Laurel Acquisition via a tender offer. The discrepancy between the current share price of the biotechnology company and the offer price is quite tiny, which points to the fact that the probability of a potential failure of this deal is relatively small. The aforementioned deal will assist Astellas in establishing its presence in ophthalmology and strengthen its position in cell therapy. The Japanese company anticipates that the acquisition will be completed by the end of the year. James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management may be one of the ‘winners’ should the acquisition take place, as it acquired a 898,867-share stake in Ocata Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:OCAT) during the June quarter.

The next page of the article discusses the firm-specific news that pushed the shares of SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SCLN) and Atwood Oceanics Inc. (NYSE:ATW) higher today. 

We will now take a thorough look at what stands behind the surge of another healthcare-related stock. Shares of specialty pharmaceutical company SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SCLN) are 29% in the green so far today, following the release of its third-quarter financial results. The company’s revenues increased to $42.9 million from $34.3 million year-on-year, while its non-GAAP diluted earnings per share climbed to $0.26 from $0.17.  Even though industry analysts have previously claimed that the Chinese pharmaceuticals market was set to experience lower growth rates relative to 2014, SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SCLN)’s management still anticipates a robust growth rate of 9-10% in 2015. The company also raised its full-year non-GAAP earnings guidance to the range of $0.93-to-$0.97, up from the previously-anticipated range of $0.73-to-$0.77. Meanwhile, its revenue guidance stays put at $153 million-to-$158 million. The number of hedge funds with positions in the company at the end of the second quarter stood at 20, compared to 16 registered in the prior quarter. From the pool of over 700 hedge funds observed by Insider Monkey, Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management was among the largest equity holders of SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SCLN) on June 30, holding nearly 559,000 shares.

It appears that Atwood Oceanics Inc. (NYSE:ATW)’s shares have also surged on the back of stronger-than-expected financial figures, gaining over 12% so far in today’s trading session. The offshore drilling contractor reported fourth fiscal quarter net earnings per share (EPS) of $2.32 on revenues of $363.2 million, compared to EPS of $1.72 on revenues of $323.4 million reported for the same period of last year. Just a few hours ago, Atwood Oceanics Inc. (NYSE:ATW) announced that one of its subsidiaries sealed an extension and rate adjustment agreement in relation to its existing contract with Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE:NBL) for its ultra-deepwater rig Atwood Advantage. This agreement is made in connection with the plugging and abandoning four well program in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, the stock is trading at a really attractive level if solely looking at its trailing P/E ratio of only 2.80, which compares to the median of 23.41 for the S&P 500 companies. 25 hedge funds tracked by our team had positions in the company at the end of the second quarter, accumulating 14.20% of its outstanding shares. David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management added a 274,778-share position in Atwood Oceanics Inc. (NYSE:ATW) to its portfolio during the June quarter.

Disclosure: None