With the stock market ending the week on a positive note, boosted by strong earnings reported by tech giants, a number of stocks are trending amid large trading volume on the back of various news. Among them, AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) is up by 5%, recovering from yesterday’s slump, while Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX), Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) and Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) have plummeted today. Let’s take a closer look at these four stocks, assess the news that sparked their moves and see if the smart money sentiment agrees with the crowd on them.
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However, let’s get back to our analysis of the four trending stocks. On the first spot is AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV), which has advanced by over 5% so far today. Yesterday, around one hour before the closing bell, the stock plummeted and closed over 10% in the red after the FDA issued a warning that AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)’s hepatitis drugs Vekira Pak and Technivie can cause liver damage. The company responded to the warning and said that it will update the prescribing labels. Meanwhile, Abbvie’s stock is down by 21% year-to-date, affected by the recent broader market sell-off. However, the smart money investors from our database like the company, as the number of funds with long positions went up to 79 from 72 during the second quarter, while the total value of their holdings represented 5.70% of its outstanding stock at the end of June. Billionaire Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management is one of the investors bullish on AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV), disclosing in its latest 13F filing that it holds a position of 927,959 shares as of September 30.
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Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX) is one of the big losers on Friday, as its stock has slid by over 33% so far in intraday trading. The reason for the drop can be found in the financial results released by the company for the third quarter. Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX) posted sales of $856 million, up by 27% on the year, but below estimates of $877 million. Its earnings per share of $0.43 advanced from $0.33 posted a year earlier, but were significantly below estimates of $0.55. Investors were also disappointed to see an 11.8% increase in wholesale business, compared to much higher growth rates in previous quarters. During the second quarter, the company saw a decrease in popularity among the funds from our database, with the number of stockholders falling to 30 from 36, while the aggregate value of their holdings represented 9.10% of the company’s outstanding stock. Louis Navellier‘s Navellier & Associates is one of the investors that bet on Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX) heading into the fourth quarter, reporting a stake of 201,023 shares in its recent 13F filing.
