Why Apple, Credit Suisse, Philips, Cabot Oil & Gas, and Independent Bank Are Down Today

Constitution Pipeline Hits A Wall

Shares of Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG) are trading down by more than 3.5% on Monday after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation rejected a permit for the company’s proposed Constitution Pipeline, arguing that the project fails to meet the requisites to protect the water resources in its surroundings. On Monday morning, the company announced that “it remains steadfastly committed to pursuing the federally-approved energy infrastructure project.”

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG) saw its popularity among hedge funds decline dramatically over the fourth quarter of 2015, as the number of funds long the stock fell to 22 from 32. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global held 13.41 million shares as of December 31, but boosted its exposure to 30.85 million shares as of January 21.

Proxy Adviser Questions Credit Suisse’s Transparency

Another stock tumbling on Monday is Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS). The financial services company has seen its shares fall by almost 2.7% since the market opened this morning after proxy adviser Glass Lewis recommended that the company’s stockholders reject the remuneration proposed for the company’s management team and board members. The vote will be held during the company’s yearly general meeting on April 29. According to Glass Lewis, Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS) was not transparent enough about the termination package that former Chief Executive Brady Dougan received when he left last year.

Questioning aside, Ken Fisher seems quite bullish on the company. His firm, Fisher Asset Management, disclosed ownership of 10.06 million shares of the firm worth almost $150 million as of March 31.

Is Apple “Outdated”?

Finally, there’s Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which is down by about 0.4% on Monday afternoon. Among the catalysts driving the decline were comments from Jia Yueting, the billionaire CEO and chairman of Chinese conglomerate LeEco, a company that is aiming to become a new leader in consumer electronics, entertainment and transportation.

“We think the difference between us and Apple is very large,” Mr. Yueting said. “Apple is a mobile phone company focused on hardware and software… [while LeEco] is focused on the internet first, and only then on software, and finally on hardware. One of the most important reasons [for slowing sales] is that Apple’s innovation has become extremely slow,” Yueting added, classifying the tech behemoth as “obsolete”. “We believe the next generation of mobile internet will be more open, more ecosystem oriented instead of being a closed loop…Ironically, Apple’s over-dominance, lack of internet-thinking and the closed off nature of its systems, all hindered innovation in the internet mobile industry,” he concluded.

In spite of what Yueting may think, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is still one of the most popular companies among hedge funds. 133 firms in our database were long the stock by the end of 2015. Very recently, Fisher Asset Management reported holding 11.31 million shares of Apple as of March 31.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article.