There is little fear on the Street today, as all three major indexes are moderately higher. Although the calm mood might change if the Fed announces an interest rate hike during the next two days, the price action on Tuesday indicates that many on the market expect the status quo to continue.
Among the stocks that are showing sharp movement today are MGT Capital Investments Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGT), PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT), Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE:CLD), Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CNAT), and Galectin Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:GALT). Let’s find out why traders are buying and selling these equities with gusto and see what the smart money thinks of them.
Through extensive research, we determined that imitating some of the picks of hedge funds and other institutional investors can help generate market-beating returns over the long run. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these investors, since they are usually less followed by the broader market and are less price-efficient. Our backtests that covered the period between 1999 and 2012, showed that following the 15 most popular small-caps among hedge funds can help a retail investor beat the market by an average of 95 basis points per month (see the details here).
After falling sharply yesterday due to the news of an SEC subpoena, MGT Capital Investments Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGT) is down again on Tuesday, this time by around 23%. Investors are selling today due to the news that the New York Stock Exchange has informed MGT that it will not approve the listing of 43.8 million shares of MGT on its exchange, which MGT needs to issue to close on its D-Vassive merger. Currently, MGT and John McAfee are exploring other alternatives to complete the transaction. Not many funds owned MGT at the end of the second quarter. Of the 749 hedge funds that we track which filed 13Fs for the June quarter, only four of them reported holding long stakes in the stock as of the end of June.
Follow Mgt Capital Investments Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGTI)
Follow Mgt Capital Investments Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGTI)
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT) shares are almost 8% in the red as optimism over yesterday’s news that the FDA granted accelerated approval to Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT)’s eteplirsen has scaled back. Tempering investor enthusiasm is analyst commentary from Jefferies’ Gena Wang, who said that the FDA’s approval of eteplirsen will have a “limited” impact on PTC’s prospects. Although the FDA might be more likely to review PTC’s Translarna again, the outcome won’t likely change. Jefferies has a $7 price target on the stock, well below its current $10 price tag. 13 funds that we track were long PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT) at the end of the second quarter.
Follow Ptc Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT)
Follow Ptc Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT)
On the next page, we’ll find out why Cloud Peak Energy, Conatus Pharmaceuticals, and Galectin Therapeutics are surging this afternoon.