The US stock indexes are slightly in the green on Thursday as investors remain cautious following Brexit aftermath and a Labor Department report, which said jobless claims rose by 10,000 to 268,000 in late June.
Among the stocks on investors’ radar today are ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG), Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD), Shire PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:SHPG), Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) and Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ). Let’s take a detailed look at the recent activity around these stocks and see how hedge funds in our database are positioned towards them.
An everyday investor doesn’t have the same resources and capabilities to analyze different publicly-traded companies as hedge funds do. This is why it is a good idea to see what stocks hedge funds like the most and try to imitate some of their bullish moves in an attempt to reap market-beating returns. At Insider Monkey, we follow the activity of several hundred of the best-performing hedge funds as part of our strategy. We analyze their 13F filings and use the data to see what stocks they are collectively bullish on. Through extensive research we have determined that the best approach to outperform the broader indices is to follow hedge funds into their top small-cap ideas. In our backtests, a portfolio of the 15 most popular small-cap stocks generated monthly alpha of 81 basis points, versus 0.7 percentage points posted by hedge funds’ top large- and mega-cap picks (see more details here).
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ConAgra Foods Misses Revenue Estimates
Shares of ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) plunged after the bell but have recovered slightly after the company reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings of $0.52 per share, which was in line with analysts estimates, but the $2.83 billion revenue missed the consensus expectations of $2.89 billion. In a statement, CEO of ConAgra Foods’ CEO Sean Connolly said that 2016 is a “tremendous” year of progress for the company as it revamps its portfolio, strengthen the balance sheet, and transforms its culture. Mr. Connolly added that all segments of the company are in a sound position as it prepares to split into two separate entities later this year. ConAgra Foods is going to bifurcate into separate businesses, Conagra Brands and Lamb Weston, in fall. Jason Karp’s Tourbillon Capital Partners is one of 34 funds tracked by us that reported stakes in Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST) as of the end of March
Follow Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE:CAG)
Follow Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE:CAG)
FDA Approves Cepheid’s Test
Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD) is in the spotlight today after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company’s test, Xpert Carba-R Assay, to detect genetic markers of bacteria that are resistant to carbapenem antibiotics, a common drug used to treat serious infections. In a statement, Cepheid’s Chief Medical Officer David Persing said that Xpert Carba-R test produces accurate results in just 48 minutes, whereas traditional tests to detect high-risk patients for colonization status take around three to five days. A total of 13 hedge funds from our database owned approximately $99.3 million worth of Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD)’s stock at the end of the first quarter. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management owns 631,376 shares of the company, according to its latest 13F.
Follow Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD)
Follow Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD)
Move to the next page to see why Shire Plc, Constellation Brands, and Hertz Global are making headlines today.
