With volatility a bit lower this morning after yesterday’s more than 2% move, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD), and ASML Holding NV (ADR) (NASDAQ:ASML) are each on the move. Without further ado, let’s check out why investors are buying and selling these stocks as well as how top investors have been buying and selling them lately.
We believe that imitating hedge funds and other large institutional investors can be helpful in identifying stocks capable of outperforming the broader market. Through extensive research that covered portfolios of several hundred large investors between 1999 and 2012, we determined that following the small-cap stocks that large money managers are collectively bullish on, can generate monthly returns nearly 1.0 percentage points above the market (see the details here).
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) has fallen by more than 6% today after two separate car dealerships accused the company of falsifying sales. In a civil racketeering lawsuit, the two prosecuting parties claimed that Fiat Chrysler had paid certain dealers money to pad sales in order to “create the appearance that FCA’s performance is better than, in reality, it actually is.”
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) responded with the following press release:
“While the lawsuit has not yet been served on FCA US, the company believes that the claim is without merit and was filed by internal counsel to the dealer group as FCA US has concurrently been discussing with the dealer group the need to meet its obligations under some of its dealer agreements. The company is confident in the integrity of its business processes and dealer arrangements and intends to defend this action vigorously.”
If the accusations against Fiat Chrysler are true, management will need to do a lot of damage control to restore its credibility. It may also need to restate its results. Hedge fund sentiment around the stock has been stable, with the number of elite shareholders falling by just one quarter-over-quarter to 34 as of September 30.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) shares are 2% higher today as the chain continues to rebound from its previous month’s atrocious performance, due to food safety concerns. Investors are buying today because analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated their ‘Outperform’ rating, with a $530 price target on the stock, and because management promised to make major efforts to win back customers. In an investor presentation yesterday, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) management reiterated their plan to increase the number of restaurants and to be a world leader in food safety to ensure that the company’s E. coli problems won’t ever happen again. The company is also planning a major marketing campaign that will hopefully increase same-store sales. 28 elite funds owned 4.9% of Chipotle’s shares at the end of the third quarter. That was down from 36 elite funds that held shares at the end of the second quarter.
Follow Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG)
Follow Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG)
On the next page we examine the latest news concerning WebMD Health Corp and ASML Holding NV (ADR).