Why Are These Four Stocks Gaining Ground on Monday?

The major indices have lost over 1% so far on Monday, but several stocks are making big moves in the opposite direction, registering significant gains fueled by positive developments. Among the market leaders, Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:ICON), Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP), Impax Laboratories Inc (NASDAQ:IPXL), and XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA) are trading significantly higher today. Let’s take a closer look at these stocks and the news that sparked their upward trend.

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Let’s start with the top gainer, XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA), whose stock has surged by over 37% so far today and seems to be heading even higher. Today’s gains have offset the 29% drop on Friday on the back of weaker-than-expected financial results for the third quarter. The company posted a flat profit for the quarter, compared to a loss of $0.17 per diluted share reported a year earlier. However, its revenue declined to $2.07 million from $5.14 million. On the back of the results, Piper Jaffray and Jefferies Group raised their price targets on XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA) to $1.80 and $1.50 respectively, but maintained ‘Neutral’ and ‘Hold’ ratings. Factoring in today’s growth, XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA)’s stock is 65% down year-to-date, but the funds from our database are bullish on the stock, with 30 investors holding over 31% of the company at the end of June.

Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:ICON)‘s shares have appreciated by more than 13%, which also helped the stock to recover from the 57% drop on Friday, which came on the back of the announcement that the company plans to restate some of its historical financial statements and the disclosure of preliminary results for the third quarter and guidance for the full year. Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:ICON) posted a net loss of $0.13 per diluted share, compared to a profit of $0.58 a year earlier. However, the non-GAAP EPS of $1.10 were substantially above the $0.52 expected by analysts, while revenue of $88.94 million, declined by 19% on the year, and was below the estimates of $105.67 million. For the current and next year, Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:ICON) expects non-GAAP EPS in the ranges of $1.35 to $1.40 and $1.35 to $1.50 respectively. Among the investors we track, 18 held stakes equal to 15.70% of the company in aggregate at the end of the second quarter.

Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP)‘s stock has gained around 9% in the Monday intraday trading, extending the gains of the last couple of days that came on the back of the third-quarter results. The company posted a net loss of $1.24, missing the estimates of $0.89, on revenue of $6.6 million, compared to flat revenue a year earlier. Several analysts raised their estimates on the company’s future earnings on the back of the results last week. Moreover, other analysts reiterated their bullish outlooks on the stock, which currently sports a consensus ‘Buy’ rating and a $50.70 price target. In a recent 13D filing, Samuel Isaly’s Orbimed Advisors reported an increased stake in Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP), which contained 7.9 million shares, compared to 7.4 million shares held earlier. Overall, the sentiment among the investors we follow is positive with 28 funds holding nearly 30% of Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP)’s stock as of the end of June.

Last but not least, Impax Laboratories Inc (NASDAQ:IPXL)‘s stock has grown by almost 8% after the company reported its financial results for the third quarter, posting EPS of $0.40, above the consensus estimate of $0.39, while the revenue of $221.10 million, was better than $214.10 million estimated by the Street. During the second quarter, the number of investors bullish on Impax Laboratories Inc (NASDAQ:IPXL) went up to 31 from 21, while the aggregate value of their holdings was equal to more than 31% of the company at the end of June.

Disclosure: none