Both a quantitative trading genius and a trader who recently stopped managing client money top Forbes’ list of the 25 highest-earning hedge fund managers and traders of 2016. James Simons and Michael Platt each personally made an estimated $1.5 billion last year and the way they did it speaks volumes about where the struggling hedge fund industry is these days.
Simons is chairman of the hedge fund firm he founded, Renaissance Technologies, which manages $36 billion. He continues to benefit from Renaissance’s funds, particularly the secretive Medallion that is not open to outside clients. Renaissance’s biggest hedge fund, the $15 billion Renaissance Institutional Equities fund, was up 21.5% net of fees in 2016.
Simons helped usher in the quantitative trading wave that has been building for decades and is now dominating the hedge fund world, leaving most of the firms that rely primarily on human decision-making in the dust. The majority of the 10 top-earning hedge fund managers and traders of 2016 to a greater or lesser extent use computers and systems-based approaches to trading financial markets.
top stock buys today: Hexcel Corporation(HXL)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Lisa Levin]
Breaking news
Hexcel Corporation (NYSE: HXL) issued a weak profit and sales forecast for 2017.
VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE: PAY) reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak outlook for the first quarter.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) lifted its quarterly dividend by 30 percent to $1.42 per share. The company’s board also announced a a new $14 billion share buyback plans.
Inovalon Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: INOV) cut its earnings and revenue guidance for full year 2016.
top stock buys today: The ExOne Company(XONE)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Peter Graham]
A long term performance chart shows shares of Stratasys, Ltd along with other small cap 3D printing stocks like 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD), ExOne Co (NASDAQ: XONE)and Voxeljet AG (NYSE: VJET) all peaking a few years and all showing some signs of stabilization over the past year:
- [By Peter Graham]
The Q4 2016 earnings report for small cap 3D printer stock ExOne Co (NASDAQ: XONE) is scheduled for after the marketcloses onThursday (March 16th). 3D printer stocks had their day in the sun a fewyears ago, buthave been disappointing investors eversincethe 3Dbubble burst whileHP Inc (NYSE: HPQ) entering the printer market with its Jet Fusion 3D adds further headwinds. However,3D printershares appear to have stabilized as the short interest has largely been cleared out.
- [By Peter Graham]
A long term performance chart shows shares of Stratasys, Ltd along with other small cap 3D printing stocks like 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD), ExOne Co (NASDAQ: XONE)and Voxeljet AG (NYSE: VJET) all peaking a few years with the bubble bursting and all showing some signs of stabilization or even a bit of a recent uptick:
top stock buys today: Helen of Troy Limited(HELE)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Teresa Rivas]
Helen of Troy (HELE) is trading lower Friday, after reporting a mixed first quarter.
The personal care products company said it earned $1.27 a share on revenue that rose 0.8% to $347.9 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.17 per share on revenue of $356.1 million. Gross profit margin increased 2.3 percentage points to 43.8%, while cash flow from operations climbed from $37.8 million in the year ago period to $41.7 million.
For the full year, Helen of Troy expects to earn between $5.85 to $6.35 a share on revenue of $1.57 billion to $1.62 billion. Analysts are modeling for earnings of $6.12 a share on revenue of $1.6 billion. However the company also warned that it expects a decline in sales for its nutritional supplement division.
Jefferies Trevor Young reiterated a Buy rating and $114 price target on the stock today:
Despite the 1Q revenue miss and ~30bps (~$4m) expected incremental FX headwinds, management maintained its FY revenue and adjusted EPS guidance (GAAP EPS came down $0.23 on the high and low end due to $6.6m of after tax non-cash asset impairment and patent litigation charges). Embedded in this guidance is the assumption of beauty coming in at the low end of the previous -7% to -12% range, and nutritional declining MSD (vs. flat to LSD positive growth previously). We believe this implies that housewares (MSD positive growth guidance previously) and health & home (LSD positive growth previously) would have to perform incrementally better than prior expectations, which we view as a positive.
The shares are down 3.3% to $99.31 in recent trading.
top stock buys today: JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited(JKS)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Paul Ausick]
It is not often that a secondary stock offering sends a companys shares higher, but we are seeing that very phenomenon Friday morning. Chinese solar PV maker JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) and stock image company Shutterstock Inc. (NASDAQ: SSTK) both priced secondary offerings this morning and shares in both companies have risen sharply.
- [By Paul Ausick]
But the real news is the near vertical trajectory in share prices for the two stocks. This could be another manifestation of the markets hunger for some momentum plays, as we noted earlier this morning the bump to share prices for both JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) and Shutterstock Inc. (NASDAQ: SSTK), both of which held secondary share sales this morning.
- [By Lisa Levin]
JinkoSolar Holding Co (NYSE: JKS) dropped 9.88% to $16.87 after the company announced the offering of 3,500,000 American Depositary Shares.
Fuwei Films (Holdings) Co (NASDAQ: FFHL) dropped 9.66% to $1.30. Fuwei Films’ trailing-twelve-month ROE is -10.85%.
- [By Elizabeth Balboa]
First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) was trading down 3.7 percent Monday, while JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ: JASO) was down 0.8 percent, SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) 4.4 percent, Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) 5.2 percent and JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) 4.4 percent.
top stock buys today: Nutraceutical International Corporation(NUTR)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Lisa Levin]
Non-cyclical consumer goods & services sector was the top gainer in the US market on Monday. Top gainers in the sector included Nutraceutical Int'l Corp. (NASDAQ: NUTR), BRF SA (ADR) (NYSE: BRFS), and Chefs' Warehouse Inc (NASDAQ: CHEF).
