Latest Earnings Reports Put These Stocks on Investors’ Radars

Markets are bullish this morning following Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s strong financial report. Investors also await a policy statement scheduled later today to get hints regarding a possible September rate hike.

Aside from Apple, other stocks that are making moves today include Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT), Ballard Power Systems Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BLDP), STMicroelectronics NV (ADR) (NYSE:STM), and United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X). Let’s find out why these stocks are in the spotlight this morning and analyze the hedge fund sentiment towards them.

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Apple Beats Estimates

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock has advanced by over 7% since the opening bell after the tech giant posted fiscal third quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations. Apple earned $1.42 per share in the quarter, better than the forecasts of $1.38, while revenue of $42.4 billion also surpassed the expected $42.09 billion. However, Apple registered a 15% fall in iPhone sales during the quarter (for the second time since the iPhone was launched), but analysts had anticipated a larger decline. In a statement, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said that Apple’s strategy to attract new customers through its 4-inch iPhone SE is working. Analysts are, however, alarmed at declining iPhone sales as users are no longer upgrading their phones with the same zeal due to market saturation. Apple’s sales in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan plunged by 33% on the year. Apple’s CFO Luca Maestri said in a press briefing that the company was aware of the slowdown in China, and it will have to “work through them”. As of the end of first quarter, 152 hedge funds in our database are long Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), owning approximately $14.8 billion worth of shares. Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management reported holding 11 million shares in its 13F filing for the end of the second quarter.

Hilton Worldwide Misses Estimates

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) shares are getting smacked this morning after the company posted dissipating second-quarter results. The Texas-based hotel and resort company posted EPS of $0.24, behind the estimates of $0.26. Revenue in the quarter came in at $3.05 billion, versus the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. System-wide comparable revenue per available room increased 2.9% in the quarter on a currency neutral basis from the same period in 2015. For the full year, Hilton Worldwide sees its EPS between $0.21 and $0.23. Among the funds we track, 42 funds were long Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) at the end of March.

On the next page, we will discuss the stock activity around Ballard Power Systems, STMicroelectronics and United States Steel Corporation.