Markets opened lower on Wednesday amid anxiety over monthly car sales, manufacturing and construction spending data slated to be announced later this week. China’s disappointing manufacturing data also added to the declines. Some of the trending stocks this morning are Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS), Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). This article will look into the reasons behind the movement of these stocks today and analyzes what famous investors think of each of them.
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No Free Charging for Model 3, Says Elon Musk
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock dropped by around 2.7% so far today after the company’s CEO Elon Musk announced in a shareholder meeting on Tuesday that that free charging for life will not be included in the upcoming mass market the Model 3. Mr. Musk said that Supercharger access will be available as a separate package, and it will be “very cheap.” He also accepted that Tesla made some serious mistakes during the production and development of Model X. As of the end of the first quarter 2016, 39 hedge funds from our database were positioned in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), up from 29 funds a quarter earlier. Daniel Benton’s Andor Capital Management owns 500,000 shares of the company.
Michael Kors Beats Estimates
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS)’s stock has advanced by more than 6% after the company posted better than expected fourth quarter results. The London based footwear and apparel company reported EPS of $0.98, above the expectations of $0.97. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.2 billion, beating the estimated $1.15 billion. In the earnings call, Michael Kors’ CEO John said that the company’s expansion in the international markets, growth of eCommerce flagships, men’s business, and the launch of an ACCESS wearable technology line are some of the factors which will provide a huge boost to the business in future. The company also completed the acquisition of Michael Kors (HK) Limited, the exclusive licensee of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS) in China for $500 million in cash. David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital is one of the 36 hedge funds having stakes in Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS) as of the end of the first quarter of 2016. It has more than 6.7 million shares of the company.
Move on to the next page to see why Nike, Toyota and Google are in the spotlight today.
Morgan Stanley Downgrades Nike
Shares of Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) have declined by more than 3% in premarket trading today after Morgan Stanley downgraded the company to “Equal Weight” from “Overweight”. Jay Sole, an analyst at Morgan Staley, said that Adidas’ comeback in the US makes the completion tougher for Nike. Mr. Sole said that retail bankruptcies, consumers’ shift eCommerce and new entrants in the markets are creating problems for the company. From our database, 64 funds hold Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE)’s shares as of the end of the first quarter. The total worth of these positions is approximately $3.6 billion. Alex Snow’s Lansdowne Partners stands out as of the biggest shareholders in the company with the ownership of more than 16 million shares.
Toyota Motor to Buy Robotics Companies from Alphabet
Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM) is close to buying two major robotics companies from Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to strengthen its weakening robotics business, Nikkei reported on Wednesday. The source said that the terms of the deal to acquire the two companies, Boston Dynamics and Schaft, are yet to be finalized. The report also claimed that Toyota will use some of the $1 billion budget of the company’s Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence for the expected acquisition. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) bought the two companies back in 2013. Out of 766 funds from Insider Monkey’s database, 155 funds were bullish on Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as of the end of March. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global has around 2 million shares of the company. On the other hand, only 12 hedge funds were long Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM) at the end of the first quarter.
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