Here’s Why These Five Stocks Are in the Spotlight Today

Despite there being just a couple more days to go until November 8, the market is surprisingly calm as all three major indexes are moderately in the green.

In this article, we will examine the reasons why PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT), Centurylink Inc (NYSE:CTL), Michaels Companies Inc (NASDAQ:MIK), Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) are each in the spotlight and we will assess the hedge fund sentiment towards these stocks.

We believe that imitating hedge funds and other large institutional investors can be helpful in identifying stocks capable of outperforming the broader market. Through extensive research that covered portfolios of several hundred large investors between 1999 and 2012, we determined that following the small-cap stocks that large money managers are collectively bullish on, can generate monthly returns nearly 1.0 percentage points above the market (see the details here).

Hadrian / Shutterstock.com

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT) has bounced back by 17% after yesterday’s over 30% plunge. PTCT shares fell yesterday due to the company including the following in its earnings report:

“While we have provided information in response to the CHMP’s requests and expect to continue to engage in further interactions, recent dialogue has introduced a higher degree of uncertainty as to the outcome.”

PTC could really use the advisory committee’s approval if Translarna is to remain commercially available in the EU. A thumbs down from the CHMP would not be helpful for Translarna’s availability. With the rally today, it seems that some traders think that the company could still potentially satisfy the CHMP and keep Translarna on the market in the EU. Of the 749 funds we track, 13 funds owned $22.28 million worth of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT)’s stock, which accounted for 9.20% of the float on June 30, versus 12 funds and $40.31 million, respectively, on March 31.

Centurylink Inc (NYSE:CTL) shares have inched up 1% after the company announced that it had reached an agreement to sell datacenters and colocation business to a consortium led by Medina Capital and BC Partners. In exchange, CenturyLink will receive $2.15 billion in cash subject to various adjustments, and a minority stake to be valued at $150 million in the consortium’s newly formed global secure infrastructure company. Management plans to use the proceeds to fund its purchase of Level 3 Communications. A total of 28 funds from our database were long Centurylink Inc (NYSE:CTL) as of the most recent 13F reporting period, down by three funds from the previous quarter.

On the next page, we examine Michaels Companies, Tesla Motors, and SolarCity Corp.