Why Visa, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, and Two Other Stocks Are in Spotlight Today

Although the earnings reports of various tech companies have mostly commanded the spotlight this Tuesday, the shares of five companies, Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO), and Corrections Corp Of America (NYSE:CXW) are also trending for various reasons.

Let’s take a closer look at why each traders are closely watching the five stocks and see how elite funds are positioned among them.

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Visa Inc (NYSE:V) is in the spotlight after the company announced that its CEO, Charlie Scharf, will resign come December 1, 2016. Scharf intends to resign because he he could no longer spend the time in San Francisco necessary to do his job at Visa Inc (NYSE:V) effectively. Taking Scharf’s place is Alfred Kelly, who is currently a board member and the CEO of Intersection Co. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management inched lower its stake in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) by 1% to 14.76 million shares during the third quarter.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) earned $1.68 per share in its third quarter, beating the Street’s expectations by $0.03. Revenue of $17.82 billion also topped the estimates by $110 million and advanced by 4.2% year-over-year. Among the lights-out performers in the quarter was Stelara, whose sales jumped by 32.8% on the year, and the company’s Immunology segment, which saw sales rise by 18% year-over-year. For the full 2016, Johnson & Johnson expects adjusted EPS of $6.68 to $6.73, up from the previous range of $6.63-$6.73. Revenues are expected between $71.5 billion and $72.2 billion. Of the 749 funds that we track, 82 funds were long Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) at the end of June.

Another healthcare giant and dividend favorite, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is trending after it announced the U.S. availability of a biosimilar of REMICADE, INFLECTRA. The launch of INFLECTRA is meaningful even for a company Pfizer’s size because Johnson and Johnson’s REMICADE registered $1.78 billion in sales in the third quarter alone. According to Pfizer, the company will sell INFLECTRA at an initial 15% discount to the wholesaler acquisition cost of REMICADE, so there is plenty of margin to be garnered. A total of 94 funds from our database owned shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) at the end of the second quarter.

On the next page, we will examine Depomed, and Corrections Corp Of America.

Jeffrey Smith‘s Starboard Value has settled its dispute with Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO) after the two announced an agreement where the Depomed board will include three new independent directors in return for Starboard withdrawing a request for a special meeting. The three directors will add to the existing six current board members of Depomed. Starboard currently owns around 9.8% of the float and wants Depomed’s board to consider strategics alternatives including selling itself. At the end of June, 23 funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned $328.2 million worth of Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO)’s stock, which accounted for 27.40% of the float.

Corrections Corp Of America (NYSE:CXW) is trending after the company has amended and extended its Intergovernmental Service Agreement with the City of Eloy, Arizona, for CCA’s leased and operated 2,400-bed South Texas Family Residential Center. The updated agreement will provide a new lower fixed monthly payment beginning November 16. In addition, Corrections Corp of America updated its guidance, with the company’s management now expecting adjusted diluted EPS of $1.78-$1.81 and normalized FFO per diluted share of $2.57-$2.60 for the full 2016. For the next year, Corrections Corp Of America (NYSE:CXW) expects adjusted diluted EPS of $1.35-$1.45 and normalized FFO per diluted share of $2.11-$2.21. A total of 15 funds from our database had a bullish position in Corrections Corp Of America (NYSE:CXW) at the end of the second quarter, up by two funds from the previous quarter.

Disclosure: None