IHS Tears Down the iPhone 7, Mast Therapeutics Crashes On Trial Failure, Plus the Latest Hype On 3 Other Stocks

Many traders are eagerly awaiting today’s EIA numbers after yesterday’s API report showed that inventories fell by 7.5 million barrels, gasoline retreated by 2.5 million barrels, and distillates increased by around 407,000 barrels.

Among the securities traders are talking about today are Mast Therapeutics Inc (NYSEMKT:MSTX), Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS), Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN), SPS Commerce, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPSC), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Let’s find out why each stock is trending and see what the smart money thinks of the five securities.

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Mast Therapeutics Inc (NYSEMKT:MSTX) shares are off by over 83% in extended market trading after the biotech reported disappointing top-line results from a phase 3 trial assessing the company’s investigational new drug vepoloxamer for the treatment of individuals with sickle cell disease experiencing vaso-occlusive crisis. According to the data, the study did not meet the primary efficacy endpoint demonstrating statistically significant reduction in the mean duration of vaso-occlusive crisis. Based on the data, Mast’s management expects that it will terminate all clinical development of vepoloxamer. It will continue its efforts with AIR001, the company’s lead asset, for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Not many funds held Mast Therapeutics Inc (NYSEMKT:MSTX) at the end of the second quarter. According to our database of 749 hedge funds which filed 13Fs for the June quarter, only six of them had a long position in the biotech company on June 30.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS) is in the spotlight after the company announced that it has reached a resolution with the SEC concerning an investigation into the company’s disclosures and controls relating to a charitable contribution in China in 2013. According to the settlement, Nu Skin will pay a fine of $765,688. In addition, Nu Skin has also announced that it anticipates third quarter sales to be at the high end of, or even slightly above, its previous guidance of $560 million-to-$580 million. Chuck Royce‘s Royce & Associates cut its stake in Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS) by 30% in the second quarter, to 870,993 shares at the end of June.

On the next page, we’ll take a closer look at what’s happening with Gray Television, SPS Commerce, and Apple.

Political correctness might not be the only thing affected by Donald Trump’s unconventional run for President. Count Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) as one of the companies that has likely been affected by the change in the status quo. Due to the difficulty in predicting political expenditures, Gray has withdrawn its guidance for net political advertising revenue for the third and fourth quarters. On the bright side, net revenue when excluding political sales, “appears likely” to meet the previous guidance for the third quarter. Gray Television said:

“Recent polling between Clinton and Trump appear to have tightened and could lead to increased ad spending by the respective campaigns and related PAC’s. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that increased spending will materialize given the very unusual nature of this year’s late presidential campaign season.”

20 funds in our system owned shares of Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) at the end of June, down by five funds from the end of March.

Traders are watching SPS Commerce, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPSC) as the S&P Dow Jones Indices is expected to replace NorthWestern Corp (NYSE:NWE) with SPS Commerce in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on Thursday. Due to the need of some mutual funds to own all components of an index, there will likely be some new buyers after that point. It appears that the news, which broke after the market close Tuesday, is quickly being priced in, as shares have jumped by over 5% in extended trading. 15 funds that we track owned shares of SPS Commerce, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPSC) as of the most recent 13F reporting period, down by three quarter-over-quarter.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is on many watchlists today after research firm IHS Markit reported that the bill of materials for an iPhone 7 with 32 GB of memory costs around $219.80 in total. After incorporating an additional $5 in manufacturing costs, IHS Markit estimates that Apple’s total cost to make a 32 GB iPhone 7 is $224.80, which is $36.89 higher than the total cost estimate that it had for the iPhone 6S. Whether IHS Markit’s estimates actually reflect Apple’s real costs is unknown, but should they be close, Apple’s gross margins appear set to contract with its latest iPhones, given that the 32GB iPhone 7 will retail for the same price as the iPhone 6S did at its launch. The number of funds in our database with holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell by 36 during the June quarter to 116 at the end of June.

Disclosure: None