Today’s midday gainers are Owens Corning (NYSE:OC), Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) and BioFuel Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:BIOF). The midday losers are Marketo Inc (NASDAQ:MKTO), ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) and Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU).
Lemann, Tepper and Dalio Make Gains Off Owens
Up +10.52% this Wednesday is Owens Corning (NYSE:OC). The producer and seller of glass fiber reinforcements reported Q4 earnings today, outperforming estimates by quite a margin. It revealed per-share earnings of $0.44 (compared to the expected $0.27) and also highlighted stronger sales and reduced costs. Moreover, Owens announced its first quarterly dividend in 14 years. That will benefit billionaires Jorge Lemann, David Tepper and Ray Dalio, all of whom hold a stake in Owens.
Following Owens is Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP), which surged +8.49%. The online travel agency edged higher after releasing its Q4 2013 financial results. Highlights include non-GAAP EPS of $0.21, which was in line with estimates on quarter revenues of $212.7 million. With 270,000 assets, TRIP composes 0.34% of Chase Coleman’s portfolio.
Finally, BioFuel Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:BIOF)’s stock price increased +7.91%. The U.S.-based ethanol producer has been selling some of its plants to competitors, and the strategy has been paying off – especially after a year of losses that left the company crippled with debt. Both Daniel Loeb and David Einhorn have allocations in the firm.
Bad Q3 a Blow for Viasat
As for the losers, first place goes to Marketo Inc (NASDAQ:MKTO), the price of which declined -9.5% midday today. The provider of cloud-based marketing software posted disappointing Q4 2013 results, including a quarterly loss widened to $15.5 million. It also released its FY 2014 guidance, and although the company is expected to raise revenues, costs have increased as well, affecting gross margins. George Soros holds 60,000 MKTO shares.
Coming in second is broadband services provider ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT), down -6.4%. The company reported a third-quarter net loss of $6 million ($0.13 per share). And even though the scenario was better than the prior year, investors weren’t happy – perhaps especially Seth Klarman, who owns 11 million VSAT shares (20.01% of his fund).
Last on today’s list of midday losers is Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), which declined -3.99%. A provider of financial services for small businesses and financial institutions, the company just revised its Q2 guidance by over $120 million – the result of late tax legislation and the government shutdown. George Soros and Ray Dalio are shareholders here.
