Why Chesapeake, Whiting, Norfolk, Endo and Vivint Solar Are Among Today’s Big Gainers

Even though oil is up by more than 2.1% on Friday, non-energy stocks are tumbling as disappointing earnings in several major tech and non-tech companies has pulled indexes down. However, a few stocks are moving in the opposite direction. This is the case for Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC), Endo International plc – Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:ENDP) and Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR), all of which are trading up on Friday afternoon. Let’s take a look into the events driving these stocks higher today, and see what the hedge funds in our database think about the companies in question.

At Insider Monkey, we track more than 785 hedge funds, whose 13F filings we analyze as part of our small-cap strategy. Our research has shown that imitating a portfolio that includes the 15 most popular small-cap stocks among hedge funds can outperform the market by as much as 95 basis points per month on average (see more details here).

Chesapeake Surges Along With Energy Prices

Let’s start with Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), which is up by more than 5.8% in early afternoon trading, accompanying the surge of several other oil and gas exploration and production stocks, including ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC), and Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN). The spikes look like a response to higher energy prices: Brent and WTI Crude Oil have each gained more than 2.1% so far, and are both trading above $44 per barrel. Natural gas is also up, by 1.45%.

Among the funds that we track, 32 held long positions in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) heading into 2016, with their stakes amassing almost 24% of the company’s total shares as of December 31. Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital LP was the largest institutional investor of record in the company, holding 73.05 million shares. However, on February 12, Mason Hawkins’ Southeastern Asset Management displaced Icahn after declaring ownership of 89.57 million shares, up from 55.67 million shares held on December 31.

Rising Crude Prices Also Help Whiting

Next up is Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL), which is up by roughly 8% in Friday trading, which is also being driven by higher oil prices. For its part, the surge in crude prices seems to be caused by more bullish market sentiment, helped by signs that the supply glut might be easing. Among other things, investment appears to be returning to the sector thanks to unexpectedly low inventories in the U.S were revealed earlier this week. Coupled with a global decline in production, supply and demand for oil has greatly improved from just a few months ago.

By the end of the fourth quarter, Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) counted the support of 40 funds from our database, with their stakes accounting for more than 22% of the company’s float. Billionaire Israel Englander’s Millennium Management held the largest position among the funds that we track, comprised of 8.85 million shares valued at more than $83 million.

We discuss three more hot stocks on the next page.

Norfolk Rallies On Strong Earnings and Analyst Upgrades

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC) are trading up by 10.5% on Friday afternoon, following the announcement of the company’s first quarter financial results. After the market closed on Thursday, the large-cap transportation company posted EPS of $1.29, a hearty $0.32 above the Street’s consensus, on revenue of $2.42 billion, which also beat estimates, by $30 million. It’s not only the results that are helping the stock today; several upgrades (from Credit Suisse and UBS, for example) and price target hikes (i.e. Cowen) are also impacting positively on the share price.

32 elite funds in our database were long Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC) by the end of the fourth quarter, with their combined stakes being valued at more than half-a-billion dollars.

Endo International Secures 25% Gain This Week

Another gainer today is Endo International plc – Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:ENDP), which is up by almost 4% in the early afternoon, continuing a big rally seen this week, as shares are up by more than 25% since Monday. It seems like the bullish sentiment this week was due to a few recent analyst reports. On Monday, Deutsche Bank said the shares were “undervalued” after the selloff seen in prior weeks; shares gained 8.2% on Monday. Then, on Thursday, JMP Securities initiated coverage on the company with an ‘Outperform’ rating, which sent the stock up by another 12%.

Among the funds that we track, 53 were long Endo International plc – Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:ENDP) at the end of the fourth quarter, with their combined stakes accounting for more than 20% of the company’s float. A noticeable position was that of Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management, which declared holding 5.17 million shares of the company as of December 31.

Vivint Solar Escalates on New Strategy

Finally, we’ve got Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR), which has gained 5.8% since the market opened today. The rise seems to be a response to the company’s announcement of a new strategy aimed at jump-starting its momentum, as well as a report from Avondale Partners which awarded the stock an ‘Outperform’ rating and $8.00 price target on the back of this new business plan. The stock currently trades at just $3.39.

Ten funds in our database held roughly 11.1% of Vivint Solar Inc (NYSE:VSLR)’s float at the end of December. A position worth highlighting was that of Joshua Friedman and Mitchell Julis’ Canyon Capital Advisors, which held more than 7.57 million shares at the end of 2015.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of 1the securities mentioned in this article.