Here’s Why Microsoft, LinkedIn and Three Other Stocks Are Making Headlines on Monday

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After opening deep in the red, the three indexes are trying to make a comeback of sorts. The Dow Jones is down just 25 points, while the NASDAQ is off by 0.25%. The S&P 500 is only 0.13% in the red. Among the stocks  that are making headlines are Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), Tribune Media Co (NYSE:TRCO), DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). Let’s find out why these stocks are trending and see what smart money investors from our database think about these stocks.

Through extensive research, we determined that imitating some of the picks of hedge funds and other institutional investors can help generate market-beating returns over the long run. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these investors, since they are usually less followed by the broader market and are less price-efficient. Our backtests that covered the period between 1999 and 2012, showed that following the 15 most popular small-caps among hedge funds can help a retail investor beat the market by an average of 95 basis points per month (see the details here).

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Microsoft Surface Pro tablet, laptop, corporation, Windows

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Microsoft Makes a Bold Aquistion

Two software/internet companies are trending today after Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced it is buying LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) for $26.2 billion, or $196 per share.  Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have inched down by 3%, while shares of LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) have surged by 47% following the news. Microsoft will fund the acquisition by issuing debt and intends to finish its around $40 billion buyback program by the end of 2016. Given how little LinkedIn makes in profits versus Microsoft, Microsoft does not expect its EPS to change much in fiscal year 2017 or 2018. If LinkedIn continues to evolve and innovate, the acquisition could be a long-term win for Microsoft. Out of the 766 funds in our database, 144 were long Microsoft and 41 owned LinkedIn at the end of March.

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On the next page, we examine Tribune Media Co, DISH Network Corp, and Yahoo! Inc.

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