Here’s What You Should Know About These Five Trending Stocks

The major US indexes opened in the red on Wednesday as the yen continues to grow against the dollar and following ADP data that showed an addition of 156,000 jobs in the private sector in April, below the expectations of 196,000. The Sohn Next Wave Conference takes place in New York today and we are bringing you updates on the spot (see two picks from the conference). Meanwhile, several stocks are trending on the back of their financial results and in this article we are going to take a look at the earnings posted by Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX), Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN), Energizer Holdings Inc (NYSE:ENR), Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR), and Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY).

In addition, we are going to assess the smart money sentiment surrounding these five stocks, based on the data we collect by analyzing equity portfolios of nearly 800 hedge funds and other institutional investors. We use this data to identify the best small-cap ideas that these funds are collectively bullish on and use it as part of our small-cap strategy (see more details here).

Let’s start with Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX), which posted first-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.49, significantly higher than the expectations of $1.30, while the revenue of $7.31 billion managed to only slightly beat the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. The net income of $1.21 billion was 25% higher on the year and the revenue went up by 2.5% on the year as CNN saw higher rankings amid the presidential election and HBO’s revenue growth was helped by the popularity of the shows such as “Game of Thrones”. On the back of the results, Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX)’s stock has appreciated by nearly 3% in the first hours of trading on Wednesday. Amid the funds we track, 72 reported long positions that amassed almost 7% of Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX)’s outstanding shares heading into 2016.

On the other hand, Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)‘s stock is close to 10% in the red, even though the company posted adjusted EPS of $10.54 for the last quarter, better than analysts’ forecast of $9.65. The revenue of $2.15 billion, was also above estimates of $2.12 billion. However, the market was disappointed to see that Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) anticipates revenue growth in the range of 7% and 14% on the year and non-GAAP EPS between $11.60 and $12.50 for the current quarter, which would be below the current expectations. A total of 85 funds from our database held 11.40% of Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)’s outstanding stock at the end of 2015, including ‘Tiger Cubs’ Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital and Chase Coleman‘s Tiger Global Management.

On the next page, we are going to take a look at the financial results posted by Energizer Holdings, Avis Budget Group and Etsy.

Energizer Holdings Inc (NYSE:ENR) posted adjusted earnings of $0.30 per share on revenue of $334 million for the fiscal second quarter, which compares with analysts’ estimates of $0.21 and $314.26 million, respectively. The company also raised its full fiscal 2016 outlook and said it currently expects adjusted EPS of $2.15 to $2.25 and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $280 million to $300 million. On the back of a positive earnings report and strong outlook, Energizer Holdings Inc (NYSE:ENR)’s stock has advanced by 4% so far today. Overall, 21 funds from our database were long Energizer Holdings at the end of 2015, down by two over the quarter, these investors having amassed 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) reported first-quarter net loss of $0.28 per share, missing the consensus estimate of a loss of $0.07 per share, while the revenue of $1.90 billion was better than the expected top-line of $1.88 billion. The company also updated its full-year guidance, which includes revenue growth in the range of 3% to 5% to between $8.75 billion and $8.9 billion, adjusted diluted EPS of 2.70 to $3.30 and free cash flow between $450 million and $500 million. At the end of 2015, Richard McGuire‘s Marcato Capital Management held 5.72 million shares of Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) and was among 33 funds we track that held around 55.70% of the company’s outstanding stock.

Last but not least, Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY)‘s stock has surged over 8% as the company posted a surprise first-quarter profit of $0.01 per share, versus an expected loss of $0.03, while the revenue of $81.8 million, beat the estimates of $75.2 million. The company posted its first profit since it went public last year. However, Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY)’s gross merchandise sales growth stood at 18% on the year to $629.9 million in the first quarter, down from 21% a quarter earlier. Even though it was mostly overlooked by the investors from our database, the number of funds bullish on Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) surged by 10 to 13 during the fourth quarter of 2015. Tiger Global Management held 8.60 million shares of Etsy heading into 2016, as revealed in its last 13F filing.

Disclosure: none