Why Are These Stocks Surging Today?

Nielsen N.V. Ordinary Shares (NYSE:NLSN) is also trending higher today, after the company announced a deal with Cumulus Media Inc (NASDAQ:CMLS) for the use of Nielsen’s Voter Rating system. Cumulus Media will use the system to determine the political preferences of its listeners in a bid to capitalize on the ongoing election campaign. Nielsen’s technology can also help political agencies increase the efficiency of their ads by targeting the required segment of voters. Shares of Nielsen jumped by nearly 2% and are continuing to go higher.

The poor performance of Nielsen N.V. Ordinary Shares (NYSE:NLSN) stock during 2015 sent the hedge fund running away, as the number of hedge fund positions in the company dropping to 19 by the end of September, from 28 three months before. Adage Capital Management’s Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, on the other hand, stood their ground and actually increased their investment in the company. In its latest 13F filing, the fund reported a 22% boost in its stake to 1.06 million shares.

General Steel Holdings Inc (NYSE:GSI) has surged by as much as 79%, after it announced the sale of its steel manufacturing business. The company’s struggles in the depressed Chinese steel industry have prompted the management to divest. General Steel has reached an agreement with an affiliate of Victory Energy Resource for the sale of its subsidiary General Steel (China) and its stake in Shaanxi Longmen Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. in exchange for $1 million. General Steel CEO, Yunshan Li, said this move was necessary for the survival of the company and for ensuring it has enough liquidity to focus on its cleantech business.

Only two of the funds we follow were holding a stake in General Steel Holdings Inc (NYSE:GSI) and their combined holdings amounted to less than 1% of the company’s common stock. Jim Simons‘ Renaissance Technologies has reported ownership of 570,400 shares of General Steel Holdings in its latest quarterly report, down by 1% over the quarter.

The biggest gainer from this group is Akers Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:AKER), currently up by 51%, although it rose by as much as 90% during the first hours of trading today. The stock mysteriously shot up this morning, with no significant news available. Whether it’s a “pump and dump” move or there is a good reason for the surge, one thing is for sure: there was significant insider buying on New Year’s Eve, with several officers and directors acquiring a large amount of shares. The stock has been a poor performed in 2015, losing approximately 70% of its value over the year.

None of the hedge funds we follow has reported a long position in Akers Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:AKER) at the end of the 2015 third quarter.

Disclosure: none