Aceto Corporation (NASDAQ:ACET), Proofpoint Inc (NASDAQ:PFPT), and Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP) were among the stocks booking big gains in after-hours trading yesterday, rising by 10.03%, 8.66%, and 5.25%, respectively. Let’s run through the action propelling these stocks upwards and how the smart money has been trading them.
Aceto Corporation (NASDAQ:ACET) reported its financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2015 ended June 30 after the market closed yesterday. The specialty chemical company had net sales of $146.6 million against market expectations of $146.68 million, while its earnings per share of $0.48 came in $0.17 better than the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.31. The pharmaceutical company reported revenue growth of 5.0% year-over-year, whereas its EPS grew by 84.6% against the prior-year quarter. Aceto Corporation also reported year-end results for fiscal 2015, announcing annual sales of $547.0 million, a 7.2% increase from the previous fiscal year. The annual net income of the pharmaceutical company improved by 9.0% to $33.5 million or $1.33 per share on a year-over-year basis.
While Aceto Corporation reported above-average financial results, it also gained attention among hedge funds in our database during the second quarter. The company was in five hedge funds’ equity portfolios at the end of June, two more than the three hedge funds holding positions in Aceto Corporation at the end of the previous quarter. The aggregate holdings, however, dropped by 4.20% compared to the first quarter, a significant drop given the stock rose by 11.95% during the second quarter. Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates held the largest stake in Aceto Corporation (NASDAQ:ACET) in our database, holding 1.60 million shares valued at $39.51 million. Renaissance Technologies and AQR Capital Management were other stakeholders, owning 310,200 shares and 14,296 shares, respectively.
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Proofpoint Inc (NASDAQ:PFPT) made gains during the regular trading hours, of 2.65%, as well as the aforementioned gains during the after-hours session. The security firm has received an average rating of ‘Strong Buy’ from 11 brokerage firms tracking the stock,along with a consensus price target of $73.44, indicating an upside potential of 16.40%. Proofpoint has had an excellent run so far in 2015, with its shares moving 19.51% higher year-to-date. However, the hedge funds in our database didn’t share the same enthusiasm as other investors, with the number of hedge funds holding positions in Proofpoint dropping by two to 21 by the end of the second quarter. The aggregate holdings followed a similar pattern, declining by 11.60% to $264.62 million. Among the hedge funds that we track at Insider Monkey, Donald Chiboucis‘ Columbus Circle Investors and Jericho Capital Asset Management held large positions in Proofpoint Inc (NASDAQ:PFPT), comprising 1.37 million shares and 727,740 shares, respectively.
Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP) made its after-hours gains after preliminary discussions between rival ZS Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ZSPH) and Swiss drug-maker Actelion Ltd were revealed. There was no official confirmation from either of the companies, however, Bloomberg reported that the Swiss company offered $2.5 billion for ZS Pharma in August. Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP)’s shares gained 7.95% during the regular trading hours. Ling Wang of Oppenheimer reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating for the biopharmaceutical company on September 8, with a price target of $55, nearly double its current share price. The shares of Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP) are still down by 16.56% year-to-date. The smart money held a strong outlook for the company, with the hedge funds in our database owning 39.90% of its outstanding shares at the end of the second quarter. The number of hedge funds holding positions in Relypsa was up by four to 28, while the aggregate holdings declined by 14.42% to $546.87 million, while the shares of the company dropped by 8.26% during the second quarter. Orbimed Advisors and Ken Griffin‘s Citadel Investment Group were the major stakeholders of the company, having 7.40 million shares and 1.43 million shares in their portfolios.
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