Why These Five Stocks Are Gaining Ground on Monday?

US stocks are sharply down on Monday as Brexit news sparked a sell-off on Friday, sending the markets deep in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has plummeted more than 300 points and no sign of improvement in the market sentiment is in sight as on Monday all three major indexes have been losing ground since the opening bell.

However, Vista Gold Corp. (NYSEMKT:VGZ), GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH), Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), Suffolk Bancorp (NYSE:SCNB) and Skullcandy Inc (NASDAQ:SKUL) are gaining ground today. Let’s find out why these stocks are up and see what the investors tracked by us think about them.

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 more details here).

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Vista Gold Surges Along with Gold Prices

Vista Gold Corp. (NYSEMKT:VGZ)’s stock has surged by over 17% so far today. The stock has been showing high volume of activity since Friday amid a jump in gold prices following the Brexit news. Only three hedge funds from our database were bullish on Vista Gold Corp. (NYSEMKT:VGZ) at the end of the first quarter, including Peter Franklin Palmedo’s Sun Valley Gold, which owns approximately 14.61 million shares of the company.

GW Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Results of Epidiolex Drug

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH)’s stock has jumped 10.27% so far today after the company announced positive results of a clinical trial of its investigational medicine Epidiolex for the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a severe form of epilepsy. The drug achieved a primary endpoint as it reduced the frequency of drop seizures. The trial was started after the company announced positive results of Epidiolex’s Phase 3 trial for the treatment of Dravet syndrome back in March. The drug currently has “Orphan” status, assigned by the FDA. A total of 18 hedge funds from our database amassed around $193.5 million worth of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH) shares at the end of the first quarter of 2016.

On the next page, we talk about why Barrick Gold, Suffolk Bancorp and Skullcandy are gaining value today. 

Goldman Sachs Adds Barrick Gold to Conviction Buy List

Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX)’s stock opened higher but has pared the gain amid reports that Goldman Sachs added the company to its “Conviction Buy” list, and raised the price target to $27.00 from $23.00. Precious metals stocks are flying high following the UK referendum as investors pile into safe haven assets. Goldman Sachs’ analyst Andrew Quail thinks that Barrick Gold will generate $1 billion in free cash flow over the next 12 months. The analyst is of the view that gold prices will keep gaining momentum in the near future. From our database, 49 funds were long Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) at the end of the first quarter. Among them, First Eagle Investment Management owns more than 37.96 million shares of the company.

People’s United Financial to Acquire Suffolk Bancorp

Shares of Suffolk Bancorp (NYSE:SCNB) have surged by 27% so far today after the company said it had reached an agreement to be acquired by People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT), the holding company for People’s United Bank, for approximately $402 million in an all-stock transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Suffolk are set to receive 2.225 shares of People’s United Financial’s stock for each share of Suffolk they own. Suffolk Bancorp’s CEO Howard C. Bluver said in a statement that People’s United’s brand, services and positioning across diverse markets will help both companies grow. Mr. Bluver added that both companies have “community oriented” cultures they are committed to the highest levels of customer service. As of the end of the first quarter, Matthew Lindenbaum’s Basswood Capital owns around 1.16 million shares of Suffolk Bancorp (NYSE:SCNB).

Skullcandy Receives a Buyout Offer

Skullcandy Inc (NASDAQ:SKUL) is in the spotlight after a private equity firm has bought a 10% stake in the company and made a buyout offer to acquire the rest of its shares. On Friday, a filing  with the SEC revealed that Mill Road Capital Management had acquired a 9.8% stake in the Utah-based company, and offered $6.05 a share for the rest of the outstanding stock, valuing the company at $173.2 million. On Friday, Skullcandy announced that it had reached an agreement to be acquired by Incipio LLC, for $5.75 per share. However, that deal included a one month “go-shop” period that allows Skullcandy to consider other offers. With ownership of some 2.18 million shares, John W. Rogers’ Ariel Investments is one of the 12 funds from our database that had stakes in Skullcandy Inc (NASDAQ:SKUL) at the end of the first quarter.

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