The three index futures are slightly in the red on Monday as traders digest the latest news and China manufacturing data. Among Monday’s after hour movers include Impinj, Inc. (NASDAQ:PI), Sanmina Corporation (NASDAQ:SANM), CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE:CURO), Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX), and Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE:TREX). Let’s take a closer look at why each stock has moved and how some smart money funds are positioned among them.
Our research has shown that hedge funds’ small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 32 percentage points since May 2014 through March 12, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter.
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Impinj, Inc. (NASDAQ:PI) has soared 22% in after hours on Monday after it reported an adjusted loss of $0.11 per share, beating the Street by $0.15 per share. Sales rose 31.9% year over year to $33.1 million, ahead of estimates by $2.02 million. Guidance is better than expected with Q2 outlook revenue of $34-$36 million versus the consensus of $33 million. Trellus Management Company reported holding a stake of 45,810 shares at the end of March.
Sanmina Corporation (NASDAQ:SANM) shares have risen around 10% after hours on Monday after the company reported adjusted Q2 EPS of $0.91 beating the Street by $0.17 per share. Sales came in better than expected at $2.13 billion, up 26.8% year over year and $160 million higher than expected. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital raised its holdings in Sanmina Corporation by 9% to 3.07 million shares at the end of December.
In Monday after hours, CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE:CURO) shares are 10% higher despite reporting softer than expected sales of $277.94 million, up 10.8% year over year but $2.33 million less than expected. The after hours surge on Monday could be due to Curo’s first quarter adjusted EPS of $0.80, which was $0.10 better than expected. For full year 2019, the company expects adjusted diluted EPS of $2.35-$2.65. Full year adjusted 2018 diluted earnings per share was $1.86. Wilmot B. Harkey And Daniel Mack’s Nantahala Capital Management more than doubled its position in CURO in Q4 to 2.962 million shares at the end of December.
Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) shares fell around 13% in after hours on Monday despite reporting better than expected adjusted EPS of $0.17 ($0.01 better than estimates) and revenue of $173.48 million ($1.32 million higher). Chairman Dr. Robert J. Shillman said, “Our Q1 results were in line with our guidance and we set a new first-quarter revenue record. However, slower business conditions have dampened our expectations for growth in the near term. Nevertheless, our products are a key element of factory automation and logistics, which we believe are both growth markets, and we remain optimistic about Cognex’s future over the long term.” Robert Karr’s Joho Capital reported a stake of 2.77 million shares in CGNX at the end of December.
Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE:TREX) shares were 11% in the red on Monday after market after reporting mixed numbers. Adjusted earnings of $0.54 per share were $0.05 per share lower than estimates while revenue of $179.57 million was $2.82 million higher. The miss could be in part due to startup costs and manufacturing inefficiencies. Richard Scott Greeder’s Broad Bay Capital intiated a new position of 164,000 shares in the fourth quarter.
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