Trending Stocks: Apple, L Brands, Tronc, GM, and More

After opening in the green, the three major indexes are now in the red as some traders step onto the sidelines before the November 8 election. Among the stocks that are in the spotlight today for various reasons are Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI), and tronc Inc (NASDAQ:TRNC).

Let’s examine each of these stocks more in-depth and analyze relevant smart money sentiment toward them.

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in the red today after Steven Milunovich of UBS said that his firm’s research showed a dichotomy of sorts. While UBS’ research showed strong interest in the U.S. for the iPhone 7 and increasing demand for the iPhone 7 Plus, the firm’s survey showed signs of softness in demand for next year in China. Specifically, there seems to be lower consumer interest for the iPhone 7 than the iPhone 6 in the world’s most populous country. Despite the potential softness, UBS still has a ‘Buy’ rating and a $127 price target on Apple. David Einhorn‘s Greenlight Capital owned 6.8 million shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on June 30.

L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) has fallen by over 8% after the company announced its estimated October comparable sales and updated its guidance for the third quarter. As it relates to October, L Brands expects comparable sales to be up by just 1%, with comp sales at Victoria’s Secret down by 2% and 6% comp growth at Bath & Body Works. As it relates to the company’s third quarter results, L Brands expects EPS of $0.40, at the bottom of its previous guidance range of $0.40-to-$0.45. 29 funds in our system were long L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) at the end of June, down by nine funds from the end of March.

On the next page we’ll examine what’s happening with General Motors, Gannett, and tronc.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) shares are less than 1% in the green after the automaker reported better-than-expected domestic sales for the month of October. According to GM, it “outperformed the entire U.S. retail industry by a wide margin”, selling 208,290 vehicles last month to individual customers in the United States. That’s up by 3% year-over-year despite the fact that there were two fewer days for selling during the month compared to October 2015. Due to the company’s performance, GM’s retail market share in the United States inched up by 1.6% to 18.1%. Meanwhile GM’s total domestic sales last month weren’t too shabby either, with the number clocking in at 258,626 vehicles. The number of funds with holdings in General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) fell by two quarter-over-quarter to 65 at the end of June.

tronc Inc (NASDAQ:TRNC) shares are 19% in the red after Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI) disclosed that it has terminated acquisition discussions with the company. Specifically, Gannett said in a press release that it “has been engaged in discussions with tronc, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRNC) (“tronc”) regarding a potential transaction and has determined not to pursue an acquisition of tronc.” Gannett’s decision means that tronc’s management will have to figure out other ways to unlock value for shareholders.

Of the 749 hedge funds that we track which filed 13Fs for the June quarter, 16 long Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI) on June 30, while 13 had shares of tronc Inc (NASDAQ:TRNC) in their portfolios.

Disclosure: None