Why Are These 4 Stocks Among the Top Gainers Today?

Despite some choppy trading in the first hour after the bell, U.S stocks have turned positive and are pushing higher this morning, helped by a wave of positive quarterly reports. Eros International plc (NYSE:EROS), Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN), TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX) and Vipshop Holdings Ltd – ADR (NYSE:VIPS) have stood out among the top gainers so far today, so let’s find out why investors are driving these stocks higher.

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Shares of Eros International plc (NYSE:EROS) have jumped by 11.75% this morning following the announcement of its fiscal year 2016 second quarter financial results. A big player in the Indian entertainment industry, Eros registered a 98% surge in revenue year-over-year, reporting $98.8 million in revenue and a profit of $0.12 per share, while analysts were looking for earnings of $0.39 per share on the back of $90.7 million in revenue. Although the company reported negative cash flow, its management is confident that it will become cash flow positive by the end of the fiscal year, as it is planning to up its efforts in claiming overdue receivables.

While Eros International plc (NYSE:EROS) is not among the favorite stocks of investors, 14 hedge funds that we track were invested in it at the end of the second quarter, holding roughly 5% of the company’s common stock. Hedge fund guru Jim Simons is very bullish on this stock, with his quant fund Renaissance Technologies having reported in its latest 13F filing a 315% boost to its stake in Eros, to 730,252 shares. Chase Coleman is also optimistic about the prospects of the company, having recently increased his investment to 1.2 million shares valued at $32.6 million.

It’s all smiles this morning for shareholders of Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN), as the stock is soaring by over 15% following a better-than-expected financial report. The company posted its 2015 fiscal fourth quarter results after the closing bell yesterday, and managed to beat Wall Street’s earnings expectations, though it missed revenue estimates. Nuance registered earnings of $0.41 per share versus expectations of $0.35 per share, while revenue came in at $504 million, below analysts’ projections of $507 million.

At the end of June, hedge fund’s holdings of Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) were valued at $1.21 billion, with 25 top funds that we track holding approximately 22% of its outstanding stock. Legendary activist investor Carl Icahn is betting big on Nuance, with it among his top ten picks for the third quarter. In its latest 13F filing, Icahn Capital LP reported maintaining its holding of 60.7 million shares, the largest holding in the stock among the funds that we follow.