Why Kohl’s, Himax, 21Vianet, YY Inc and Netflix Are Tumbling Today

Major U.S. stock indexes are trading down on Thursday, somewhat driven by a decline in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), a tumbling Japanese Yen, dropping oil prices and a spike in U.S. unemployment. Among the stocks posting significant declines are Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS), Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX), 21Vianet Group Inc (NASDAQ:VNET), YY Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:YY) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). So, let’s take a look into the events causing these decays, and into how the hedge funds in our database feel about the companies involved.

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Poor Results At Kohl’s Drag Retailers Down

Let’s start with Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS), whose shares are down by almost 11%, following the announcement of its first quarter financial results. The company’s EPS of $0.31 missed the Street’s consensus by $0.06, while revenue of $3.97 billion, down 3.6% year-over-year, came in $160 million below estimates. Comps were also down 3.9%, same as margins, which fell 140 basis points to 35.5% of sales, and operating income, which plummeted more than 60% year-over-year, to 2.7%. Among the almost 800 funds that we track, 22 were long Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) by the end of the last fully reported quarter – the fourth quarter of 2015. Over the first quarter of 2016, Michael Messner’s Seminole Management incorporated to this list, with a new stake comprising 180,589 shares of the company.

Is Mr. Market Overreacting To Himax’s Revenue Miss?

Next up is Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX), whose stock has lost 11.85%, even though the company posted a first-quarter earnings beat with net income of $0.08 per ADS higher than the expected $0.07. However, revenue of $180.32 million missed the Street’s consensus by $1 million, and this seems to be weighing on the stock. For the ongoing quarter, management said it expects revenue to grow by 7.5% to 12.5% sequentially (or 14.6% to 19.9% year-over-year) to $193.8 million – $202.9 million, while analysts projected $194.8 million. Finally, the company forecasts GAAP earnings of $0.085 to $0.105 per ADS, well above estimates of $0.07 per ADS.

At the end of 2015, Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) saw 17 funds from our database holding 12.8% worth of stock. Columbus Circle Investors has reported a new stake containing 1.87 million shares of the tech firm, valued at more than $21 million at the end of the first quarter.

21Vianet Hits 52-Week Low On High Options Activity

Shares of 21Vianet Group Inc (NASDAQ:VNET) are trading down by 10.6% on triple their regular volume, amid elevated put options activity, which is usually interpreted as a bearish signal. Also contributing to the tumble in the stock were news about China limiting reverse mergers. The stock is now trading below $13.40, very close to their 52-week low of $13.35, which was hit earlier today. In 21Vianet Group Inc (NASDAQ:VNET), 13 investors that we track held shares at the end of the last year. Lei Zhang‘s Hillhouse Capital Management closed its stake that had contained 2.12 million shares during the last three months of 2015.

YY Inc Buyout Offer Shelved

Another decliner on Thursday is YY Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:YY), whose stock has lost 2.4%, following news that the group of investors interested in acquiring the company had put the $2.5 billion bid on hold, as the Chinese government tries to limit speculation in its markets – by increasing scrutiny on U.S. listed companies seeking to return to Chinese stock exchanges. YY Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:YY) is another Chinese tech company that saw its popularity among hedge funds decline over the fourth quarter. After an 11% decline in the number of long positions, 16 funds from our database held shares heading into 2016.

Netflix Falls On Postponed Fee Hike

Finally, there’s Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), which has slid by 4.1% so far today, amid talks that the company has delayed the anticipated increase in its subscription fee for ‘grandfathered users’ into June. The price was originally scheduled to rise today, to $9.99 a month from $7.99, but worries about users canceling their subscriptions (there has been a lot of discussion on the subject) seems to be impacting on the company’s decision. According to a Forbes article, nearly 70% of Netflix’s U.S. users (or roughly 46% of its global users) would be affected by the fee hike. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a popular stock in the hedge fund world, counting on 64 investors with long positions at the end of 2015. Their stakes accounted for more than 15% of the company’s float. A noteworthy position was that of Chase Coleman‘s Tiger Global Management, which disclosed ownership of 17.99 million shares, valued at more than $2 billion.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.