High Volume Movers: Twitter, Sanchez Energy, Gold Fields, More

All three indexes are now in the red as some traders take profit from the market’s run-up since the Brexit, while others remain cautious given the state of the global economy. In this article we’ll take a closer look at five stocks in the spotlight on Tuesday, which are Sanchez Energy Corp (NYSE:SN), Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI), Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU), Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), and ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP). We’ll also dig into SEC filings to see what the smart money thinks of them.

At Insider Monkey, we track around 765 hedge funds and institutional investors. Through extensive backtests, we have determined that imitating some of the stocks that these investors are collectively bullish on, can help retail investors generate double digits of alpha per year. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these funds, which are usually less followed by the broader market and allow for larger price inefficiencies (see the details here).

Sanchez Releases Second Quarter Operating Results

Sanchez Energy Corp (NYSE:SN) shares are 1.2% in the green today after the company released solid second quarter operating results. For the period, Sanchez produced an average of 55,900 BOE per day, exceeding the high-end of the company’s guidance for the quarter. The company’s average cost per well was $3.3 million, with the results of some wells coming in below $3 million. Overall, Sanchez spud 17 net wells and completed 17 net wells during the quarter. Eight funds in our database had a bullish position in Sanchez Energy Corp (NYSE:SN) at the end of the first quarter, down by five funds from the close of the previous quarter.

Gold Fields Higher on Guidance

Despite gold futures being flat, Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI) has rallied by almost 2% today on the back of updated guidance. According to a press release, Gold Fields Limited expects EPS for the six months ended June 30 to be $0.14, with normalized earnings per share for the period to be $0.13. Both numbers are considerably higher than last year’s due to higher gold prices, lower net operating costs in local currencies, and weaker exchange rates. Total attributable gold equivalent production is expected to be 529koz for the second quarter, with all-in costs of $1,061 per ounce. Of the 766 active funds that we track, there were 21 with positions in Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI) on March 31, owning $418.25 million worth of shares which accounted for 13.70% of the stock’s float.

On the next page we’ll find out why Kansas City Southern, Twitter, and ZIOPHARM Oncology are moving today.

Railroad Reports Mixed Earnings

Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) shares are 1.6% in the red after the railroad operator reported EPS of $1.22 on revenue of $569 million for the second quarter. The results beat estimates by $0.18 per share on the bottom-line but missed by $3.96 million on the top-line. Revenue fell by 2.9% year-over-year, largely caused by a 6% drop in consumer products shipment revenue and a 16% drop in energy shipment revenue. Total care load volumes were flat, however, at around 537,300. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management was a top shareholder of Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) at the end of June, owning 687,393 shares.

Twitter Expands its Streaming Video Content

In its quest to monetize its user base, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) has struck a deal with the NBA to stream new shows related to basketball. According to the deal, the NBA will produce two shows, a weekly pregame series and another whose content is still to-be-decided, which Twitter will stream on its site. The deal does not include digital rights to stream actual basketball games however. Twitter bulls hope the streaming content will help increase Twitter’s ad sales. 27 funds in our system had a bullish position in Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) as of March 31, down by three funds quarter-over-quarter.

ZIOPHARM Clarifies on Patient Death

Traders are watching ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP) today (whose shares opened sharply higher but are now up by only 0.8%) after the biotech provided an update on the company’s Phase 1 study of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + orally administered veledimex. According to the update, the widely publicized death of a trial participant, which resulted from intracranial hemorrhage in the third cohort of the study was “deemed unrelated to study drug” according to the study’s Safety Review Committee. The study remains open for enrollment. The number of funds that we track with holdings in ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP) fell by three quarter-over-quarter to nine as of the end of March.

Disclosure: None