Market vibes are mixed on Friday as investors reassess the possibility of a Brexit amid the suspension of the referendum debate following the murder of a British lawmaker.
Several stocks are making headlines today, including Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC), Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ:FNSR), Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PRTK), and BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP). Let’s find out why these stocks are on the move today and analyze the hedge fund sentiment towards them.
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Smith & Wesson Beats Estimates
Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) are gaining after the company posted better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. The Massachusetts-based manufacturer of firearms posted EPS of $0.66, better than the analysts’ estimate of $0.54. Revenue in the quarter came in at $221.1 million, topping the consensus estimate of $214.55 million. For full fiscal 2017, the company expects its EPS in the range of $1.83 to $1.93, versus the estimates of $1.66. During the earnings call, James Debney, Smith & Wesson’s CEO, said that strong quarterly results are in line with the company’s vision of becoming a leading provider of quality products for shooting, hunting and outdoors. As of the end of the first quarter, 24 hedge funds from our data are long Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC), down from 27 funds a quarter earlier. Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors owns 474,369 shares of the company.
Oracle Posts Strong Quarter
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock has advanced by over 2% today after the company met earnings estimates and posted better-than-expected revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter. Oracle’s sales got a boost due to increasing cloud SaaS business. Oracle posted EPS of $0.81, in line with the consensus estimates. Revenue in the quarter came in at $10.71 billion, topping the estimated $10.47 billion. In a statement, Oracle’s CEO Safra Catz said that the company implemented the “accelerated buying experience” using which the customers can buy and start using company’s services and products quickly. He added that Oracle’s growth in Asia Pacific is “superb” and demand is strong in Europe. Among the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 62 funds amassed around $7.9 billion worth of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock at the end of March. Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick First’s Pacific Advisors owns more than 25 million shares of the company.
We will discuss Finisar, Paratek and BP on the next page.
Finisar Corporation Beats Estimates
Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ:FNSR)’s stock is in the spotlight today after the company beat analysts’ estimates for the fiscal fourth quarter. The California-based manufacturer of optical communication components reported a 78% annual rise in profit in the quarter, thanks to the increasing demand in its datacom segment. The company earned $0.29 per share, better than the estimated $0.25. Revenue of $318.8 million also topped the expected $317.38 million. For the first quarter of fiscal 2017, Finisar expects its EPS to be in the range of $0.27 to $0.33, versus the consensus of $0.27. With ownership of around 4.0 million shares, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is one of 27 hedge funds from our database that reported stakes in Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ:FNSR) as of the end of March.
Paratek’s Phase 3 clinical trial of Two Drugs Meets Endpoints
Investors are watching Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PRTK) closely today after the company said on Thursday that a Phase 3 clinical trial comparing its broad spectrum, once-a-day antibiotic, omadacycline, to twice- daily linezolid in the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) met the US FDA’s specified primary endpoints. The study also met two co-primary endpoints specified by European Medicines Agency (EMA) for post-treatment evaluation.As of the end of March, 10 hedge funds among those we track have stakes in Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PRTK). Collectively, these hedge funds amassed around 24% of the company’s stock. Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group owns more than 1.54 million shares of the company.
Citigroup Upgrades BP plc
BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) climbed by 0.41% after analysts at Citigroup upgraded the company to “Buy” from “Neutral”, saying that the company is “better” and “simpler” than its competitors, such as ExxonMobil Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell. Citigroup analysts Alastair Syme and Michael Alsford think that BP’s recent spin-off of its Norwegian oil and gas fields will make the organization leaner and more focused, resulting in a closing returns-gap to its peers, improved asset utilization and cost-control. Our data show that 34 smart money investors held shares of BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) at the end of the first quarter. Among them is Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management, which owns more than 8.98 million shares of the company.
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