Why Are These Four Stocks among Top Gainers Today?

Markets have turned red today, as investors are digesting news from yesterday’s Fed statement. The central bank has played down the effect of a global economic slump on the state of the U.S. economy, stating that it will use progress in the labor market when deciding whether to raise interest rates at its December meeting. However, several stocks have set off in the opposite direction and among them, Revance Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RVNC), Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) and Alcatel Lucent SA (ADR) (NYSE:ALU) are leading the gainers today, while the buzz around EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) has cooled down after the first hour of trading. Let’s find out what drove these stocks higher this morning.

Wall Street Bull

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Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK)’s shares are trending higher today after the company announced plans to return $4.4 billion to shareholders. The Finnish giant expects savings related to the takeover of French rival Alcatel Lucent SA (ADR) (NYSE:ALU) to materialize earlier than previously thought and has announced shareholder will receive ordinary dividends of EUR 0.15 ($0.16) per share in 2015 and 2016, and a special dividend of EUR 0.10 ($0.11) per share subject to approval next year. On top of that, Nokia intends to launch a two-year EUR 1.5 billion ($1.64 billion) share buyback program and has committed EUR 3 billion ($3.29 billion) to debt repayment in 2016. Shares of both companies have opened higher today and are currently up by 9%.

 Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) is set to acquire Alcatel Lucent SA (ADR) (NYSE:ALU) in early 2016 for approximately EUR 15.6 billion ($17.1 billion). Following the takeover, Nokia expects to register savings of up to EUR 900 million in 2018 instead of 2019 as previously stated. Compared to its rival, Nokia is much more popular among the hedge funds that we track, as 23 of them have reported long positions at the end of the second quarter. Their combined holdings were valued at $699 million and represented 2.8% of the company’s common stock. Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies have high hopes for the stock, having increased their stake by 18% to 19.3 million shares during the quarter. Shares of Alcatel Lucent SA (ADR) (NYSE:ALU), in the meantime, were held by just 10 elite funds, with their positions accounting for a minor 1.2% of the company’s outstanding stock. Arrowstreet Capital, run by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, was the largest holder of Alcatel Lucent shares, having reported ownership of 17 million shares in its latest 13F filing, down by 4% during the quarter.

A better than expected revenue figure have propelled EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) up by more than 10% in the opening hour today. The molecular diagnostic company has announced revenues of $12.6 million for the third quarter, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $12.4 million. The loss of $0.45 per share, on the other hand, narrowly missed analysts’ consensus of $0.44. Still, the fact that revenues have grown for the fourth consecutive quarter have prompted investors to push the stock into green territory, currently up by 13.5%, having wiped the losses registered this month.

During the second quarter, Roberto Mignone was busy buying EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) shares left and right, building a position that amassed 1.54 million shares. Samuel Isaly was also keeping tabs with his fund, Orbimed Advisors, holding 1.77 million shares, a position unchanged during the quarter. EXACT Sciences gained some popularity among top hedge funds during the second quarter, as the number of funds invested grew to 17, from 16 at the end of March, while the value of their investment rose by 46% to $237 million.

Shareholders of Revance Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RVNC) also have rejoiced today, as one of the company’s drugs registered positive Phase 2 results. Dubbed RT002, Revance’s injectable botulinum toxin product candidate has generated better results in terms of efficiency compared to placebo and current market leader BOTOX Cosmetic, prompting the management to pursue Phase 3 studies in the second half of 2016. Shares of Revance have jumped by as much as 38% during the first hour of trading.

The hedge fund sentiment towards Revance Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RVNC) has not changed much during the second quarter, as the number of funds holding long positions at the end of June stayed put at 12, while the value of their combined holdings inched lower to $57.8 million. Together, elite funds have control over 7.6% of the company’s common stock, with Polar Capital, run by Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley, being the largest holder of Revance stock among the funds we follow. In its latest 13F filing, Polar Capital reported ownership of 1.13 million shares, up by 3% during the quarter.

Disclosure: none.