We finally finished processing 13F filings from 823 hedge funds and prominent investors. We believe one of the best tools for ordinary investors who are on the hunt for new ideas is 13F filings. Once every quarter hedge funds with at least $100 million in total positions in publicly traded US stocks, options, and convertible debt are required to open the kimono and disclose the number of shares and the total value of its positions in each of the stocks and options in its portfolio. We now know which stocks hedge funds were piling into during the coronavirus crash.
Hedge funds hire some of the smartest Ivy League graduates as their analysts, have access to industry insiders whom they “consult” with, unconventional data sources that cost tens of thousands of dollars, years of experience and millions of dollars as incentives to come up with the next great investment idea. Every quarter we process around 800 hedge funds’ 13F filings to identify each hedge fund’s new moves, top stock picks, and more importantly overall sentiment changes towards each of the 4000 stocks that are publicly trading. We publish all of our analysis in our premium quarterly newsletter (download a free sample), and then share interesting bits and pieces on our website.
Last week we published the list of 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. This article is a condensed version of the original article and focuses on the top 10 stock picks.
The top 10 stocks among hedge funds returned 176% since the end of 2014 and outperformed the S&P 500 Index ETFs by more than 108 percentage points. We know it sounds unbelievable. You have been dismissing our articles about the top hedge fund stocks mostly because you were fed misleading information by other media outlets about hedge funds’ poor performance.
It is true that hedge fund investors, i.e. those people who hand their hard earned dollars to hedge fund managers, underperform because hedge funds charge huge fees and they hedge their bets. Hedge funds also invest in a diversified portfolio of good and bad ideas. By focusing on the top stock picks among all hedge funds, we have been able to identify some of the best stocks to buy in the market for years. The top 10 most popular stocks among hedge funds beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 108 percentage points over the last 5.5 years.
At Insider Monkey we leave no stone unturned when looking for the next great investment idea. For example, we believe electric vehicles and energy storage are set to become giant markets, and we want to take advantage of the declining lithium prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So we asked astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson about Tesla, Elon Musk, and his top stock picks. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. Our best call in 2020 was shorting the market when S&P 500 was trading at 3150 after realizing the coronavirus pandemic’s significance before most investors did. We saw the coronavirus crash coming (see this article). Several hedge funds saw it too and they flocked into the following 10 stocks:
11. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): $504
Number of Hedge Funds: 128
Total Dollar Amount of Long Hedge Fund Positions:$109 billion
Percent of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 15.6%
2020 Return (through August 21st): 70.6% vs. SPY’s 6.6% gain
Popularity Ranking (Q1): 10
Noteworthy Hedge Fund Shareholders: Warren Buffett, Ken Fisher
10. Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY): $62
Number of Hedge Funds: 136
Total Dollar Amount of Long Hedge Fund Positions:$6.6 billion
Percent of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 16.5%
2020 Return (through August 21st): -0.9% vs. SPY’s 6.6% gain
Popularity Ranking (Q4): 9
Noteworthy Hedge Fund Shareholders: Jim Simons, Cliff Asness
Copyright: mikkolem / 123RF Stock Photo
9. PayPal (NYSE:PYPL): $198
Number of Hedge Funds: 144
Total Dollar Amount of Long Hedge Fund Positions:$11.4 billion
Percent of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 17.5%
2020 Return (through August 21st): 81.9% vs. SPY’s 6.6% gain
Popularity Ranking (Q4): 11
Noteworthy Hedge Fund Shareholders: Philippe Laffont
www.BillionPhotos.com / Shutterstock.com
8. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG): $1,588
Number of Hedge Funds: 144
Total Dollar Amount of Long Hedge Fund Positions:$14.8 billion
Percent of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 17.5%
2020 Return (through August 21st): 18.2% vs. SPY’s 6.6% gain
Popularity Ranking (Q4): 7
Noteworthy Hedge Fund Shareholders: Boykin Curry, David Blood and Al Gore
Boykin Curry of Eagle Capital
7. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA): $343
Number of Hedge Funds: 147
Total Dollar Amount of Long Hedge Fund Positions:$14.4 billion
Percent of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 17.9%
2020 Return (through August 21st): 13.4% vs. SPY’s 6.6% gain
Popularity Ranking (Q4): 8
Noteworthy Hedge Fund Shareholders: Tom Russo, Charles Akre
Pixabay/Public Domain
6. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V): $206
Number of Hedge Funds: 154
Total Dollar Amount of Long Hedge Fund Positions:$17 billion
Percent of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 18.7%
2020 Return (through August 21st): 9.1% vs. SPY’s 6.6% gain
Popularity Ranking (Q4): 6
Noteworthy Hedge Fund Shareholders: Ken Fisher, Warren Buffett
JMiks / Shutterstock.com
Top 5 Stocks Among Hedge Funds:
Click here to see the top 5 hedge fund stocks or watch the video below.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published on Insider Monkey.
