Why These Stocks Are Trading In Red Today

The US Stock Market is quite flattish on Monday, with major indexes posting small gains. However, a few stocks like Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD), Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL), Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ:GLUU) and Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA) have plunged in today’s session. So, let’s take a look at the events behind these substantial declines and see what the funds in our database think about these companies.

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).

Let’s start with Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), which is down approximately 9.7% on Monday’s early afternoon, after the company announced a management team reshuffle as buyout rumors mount – exacerbated by the addition of media executive Anthony J. Vinciquerra  to the company’s Board. Former CEO Brian McAndrews was replaced by founder Tim Westergren, effective immediately; in addition, Mike Herring was appointed President and CFO, Sara Clemens was named COO, and Chris Philips, Chief Product Officer.

Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) has gained traction in the hedge fund world recently. Over the fourth quarter of 2015, the number of funds in our database long the stock rose by 33% to 48. These firms held more than 35% of the company’s total shares. The largest stake is held by Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital, which last declared owning 10.74 million shares of the company.

Next up is MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD), whose stock is down by roughly 20% as short interest continues to rise (it now stands around 44% of the float) and a class action filed on behalf of investors who lost money on the stock due to false and misleading statements from the company looms. However, no particular events seem to be driving Monday’s losses.

Among the funds that we track, 11 were long MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) at the end of the fourth quarter. While hedge fund support was not overly high, several funds became very bullish, including D E Shaw, which reported a position of 1.06 million shares in its last 13F filing, up by more than 6,000% quarter-over-quarter.

Shares of Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) are trading down by more than 3.5% on Monday afternoon as oil prices continue to retreat. WTI Crude Oil is down by more than 1%, to $39.05 per barrel, while Brent has lost almost 1.4% to $39.88 per barrel. Some OPEC countries have agreed to meet in Doha, Qatar, on April 17 to discuss the production freeze; but, with Iran and Libya likely not attending the reunion, a reduction in the global supply glut seems increasingly unlikely.

By the end of the last fully reported quarter, Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) counted the support of 40 funds from our database; their stakes accounted for more than 22% of the company’s float on December 31. Billionaire Israel Englander’s Millennium Management held the largest position among the funds we track; its stake comprised 8.85 million shares, valued at more than $83 million at the end of the fourth quarter.

Another decliner on Monday is Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ:GLUU), whose shares have declined by 7%. The tumble seems like a continuation of a trend seen recently in the stock — and among video game stocks in general; shares of Glu Mobile have lost almost 29% over the past month on the back of lackluster performances.

During the fourth quarter, the number of firms (among those we track) long Glu Mobile fell by 38% to 13. One of the largest positions closed out over the fourth quarter was that of Joel Ramin’s 12 West Capital Management, which disposed of all of its 3.74 million shares.

Finally, there’s Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA), whose stock has inched down by 4% after Goldman Sachs analyst Jay Olson downgraded the stock to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’, while trimming the price target to $30 from $65. In addition, the expert removed the shares from Goldman Sachs’ America’s Buy List, citing a miss in the company’s APEX study.

Negative news aside, Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA) counts on the support of several hedge funds. Among the funds that we track, 24 were long the stock at the end of 2015, with their aggregate stakes accounting for almost 20% of the company’s total shares. The largest position was that of Millennium Management, which disclosed ownership of 1.64 million shares, valued at $84.78 million on December 31.

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