Trending Stocks: Netflix, Toyota, Tesla, and More

On the day before election day, investors are gearing up for what is likely to be a short burst of intense market volatility following the revelation of who will lead the United States for the next four years on Tuesday.

In the lead-up to that, the spotlight is firmly shining on four tech companies and one Japanese car maker today. In this article, we’ll examine the latest news concerning Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) and uncover how the smart money was positioned in each one using 13F filings.

At Insider Monkey, we track around 750 hedge funds and institutional investors. Through extensive backtests, we have determined that imitating some of the stocks that these investors are collectively bullish on, can help retail investors generate double digits of alpha per year. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these funds, which are usually less followed by the broader market and allow for larger price inefficiencies (see the details).

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Although it has historically maintained more of an interest in hybrids and hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles, Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM) is adjusting to the times. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Toyota intends to produce electric vehicles that can go 300 km or more on a single charge en masse by 2020. To achieve its aims, Toyota will form an in-house team dedicated to the goal as soon as 2017. The company will also dedicate more resources to batteries, which play a central role in an EV’s performance. Toyota bulls hope that the company won’t be too late to enter the category, seeing as how Tesla plans to make 500,000 vehicles annually by 2018 and several other automakers have seemingly dedicated more resources to the sector in recent months. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management owned 1.32 million shares of Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM) on June 30.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) are in the spotlight after Barron’s published a column titled ‘Is a Wedding in Comcast and Netflix’s Future?’ over the weekend. According to the article, writer Alexander Eule notes that Netflix and Comcast have collaborated recently, with Comcast agreeing to offer Netflix directly on its X1 cable boxes. Given that the collaboration doesn’t make much sense on the surface given that Netflix personifies new media and Comcast is the definition of old media, Eule thinks that the cable-box partnership is just the start. Given the spate of mergers in the entertainment industry, Eule writes that, “if Comcast execs are feeling antsy, a few of their colleagues already have Netflix on speed dial,” meaning that an M&A deal can’t be ruled out in the long run.

According to our database of 749 funds which filed 13Fs for the June quarter, 88 were long Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) at the end of the second quarter. While 54 were bullish on Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX).

On the next page we’ll shine the spotlight on the Tesla Motors/SolarCity Corp merger.

While we’re on the subject of M&A, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk again made some headlines by commenting on SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY)‘s debt. In a tweet on November 4, Musk wrote:

“Tesla will def absorb SolarCity debt. Altho extremely unlikely, I would pay it personally if need be. Debts must be honored.”

Given that Musk is one of the richest people in the world and has substantial ownership stakes in SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, that comment certainly is reassuring to many SolarCity debt holders. Given the price action on SolarCity on Friday, it certainly seems like many traders think that there is a good probability that shareholders will approve the merger between Tesla and SolarCity on November 17.

According to our data, 36 funds that we track owned Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares on June 30, while 26 were shareholders of SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY).

Disclosure: None