Why Traders Are Buzzing about Lennar Corporation, Opko Health and Three Other Stocks on Tuesday

It looks like Wall Street will open in the green on the second consecutive day as all three indexes are in the green. Traders are in ‘risk-on’ mode in anticipation that Britain will remain in the EU on Thursday.

Among the stocks in the spotlight are Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN), Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX), Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK), Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE:PLNT), and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC). Let’s take a closer look at these companies and see what the funds we track at Insider Monkey think about them.

While there are many metrics that investors can assess in the investment process, the hedge fund sentiment is something that is often overlooked. However, hedge funds and other institutional investors allocate significant resources while making their bets and their long-term focus makes them the perfect investors to emulate. This is supported by our research, which determined that following the small-cap stocks that hedge funds are collectively bullish on can help a smaller investor to beat the S&P 500 by around 95 basis points per month (see the details here).

Lennar Reports Earnings

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $0.95 per share on revenue of $2.75 billion, versus $0.79 per share and $2.39 billion for the same quarter last year. Higher results were driven by more home deliveries, which rose by 12% year-over-year, and higher operating margins on home sales, which inched up to 13.9% from 13.8%. The future looks strong, with Lennar reporting new orders up by 10% to 7,962 homes and backlog up by 12% to 9,014 homes. Of the 766 elite funds we track, 43 funds owned $1.18 billion worth of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)’s stock, which accounted for 11.50% of the float on March 31, versus 44 funds and $1.04 billion respectively on December 31.

Himax Declares Dividend

Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) is in the spotlight today after the supplier and fabless manufacturer of advanced display drivers and other semiconductor products declared a cash dividend of 13 cents per ADS. That’s considerably lower than the company’s previous dividend payout of $0.30 per share. CEO Jordan Wu said:

“Himax dividend is based on our prior year’s profitability. The payout ratio and yield of our dividend is compared to those of other dividend paying companies in our sector which we work to maintain our high competitive standards. The payout ratio of 89.0% demonstrates our continued support of our shareholder base and strong confidence in the positive outlook for revenues and earnings growth in 2016 as well as our long-term strategy and growth opportunities. In addition to dividend distribution, our cash will also be allocated to expand our LCOS microdisplay and WLO facilities.”

Shareholders hope the dividend for next year will be higher. The number of funds from our database with holdings in Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) rose by 10 quarter-over-quarter to 27 at the end of March.

On the next page, we examine Opko Health, Planet Fitness, and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.Opko Rallies on FDA Thumbs Up

Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) shares are trading higher after the FDA gave the thumbs up for the company’s NDA for RAYALDEE to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism associated with vitamin D insufficiency in stage 3-4 CKD. The market could be promising for the drug, given that there are 9.0 million patients in the United States with secondary hyperparathyroidism, stages 3 to 4 CKD, and vitamin D insufficiency. Opko plans to commercially launch the product in the second half of this year. A total of 16 funds owned shares of Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) at the end of March, down by four from the previous quarter.

Some Shareholders of Planet Fitness Consider Trimming Their Stake

Certain existing stockholders of Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE:PLNT) intend to offer for sale 10 million class A common shares, in addition to granting underwriters a 30-day option to buy an additional 1.5 million shares. Planet Fitness will not sell any shares or receive any proceeds from the offering. Seeing as shares of Planet Fitness are up  by 25% year-to-date, it is understandable that some investors might want to take some profits. Nine funds tracked by Insider Monkey had a long position in Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE:PLNT) at the end of the first quarter.

Lawmakers Fail to Pass Gun Control Legislation

Gun-maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) is trending after the Senate failed to pass a bill that would increase gun control measures such as strengthening background checks and preventing suspected terrorists from buying guns. Despite the recent mass-shooting in Orlando, some politicians are apprehensive that gun regulation might hurt the second amendment. Others don’t think the gun measures go far enough. At the end of March, 24 funds tracked by us were bullish on Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC), down by three funds from the previous quarter.

Disclosure: none