Andrew Sandler had a nice pick in Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS). The stock had an impressive run going from about $27 to $73 in 2014. Investors continue to expect good things in Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) due to popularity in Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 6 and as 4G LTE network continues to gain traction in China. The stock gained another 35% for the first quarter of 2015 but Sandler Capital Management might be taking profits off the table. At the beginning of 2015, Sandler had reduced the firm’s position by 42% to hold 214,800 shares of Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) at a value of $15.6 million and representing 0.82% of the overall portfolio. Other notable shareholders include Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management and Arrowstreet Capital run by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell. Both firms have over $100 million invested in the stock as of the latest filings.
Speaking of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Sandler cut his firm’s exposure in that as well by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2014. As of the latest filing, Sandler Capital Management held 164,600 shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at an investment valued at $18.1 million representing 0.95% of the firm’s portfolio. Legendary investor Julian Robertson of Tiger Management still likes the stock however saying that if Apple and Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) stocks had the 1970′s and 1980′s multiples, they would be double and triple the current prices. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained 13% in the quarter.
Interestingly, Sandler made a few moves in the firm’s position in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Sandler began to reduce the firm’s position by 49% in the last quarter of 2014 which ended up at 482,000 shares of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) for an investment of $37.6 million. Simultaneously, he also added 140,000 call options for another $10.9 million investment. The equity portion stood at 1.98% but Sander Capital Management is still levered to Facebook with the call options.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is increasingly popular among the hedge funds we track, with 118 funds disclosing long positions in the latest round of 13F filings. Lone Pine is the largest shareholder of Facebook among the funds we track, followed by Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, which own 7.18 million shares and 5.24 million shares respectively. With a user base of 1.4 billion users, investors expect some of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s latest acquisitions such as WhatsApp to begin to contribute to underlying profits. The stock returned 5.4% for the first quarter.
FedEx Corporation(NYSE:FDX) was one of the laggards in Sandler Capital Management’s portfolio. Sandler had begun reducing the firm’s positon by 46% in the fourth quarter of 2014. By the new year, the firm held 97,900 shares at an investment of $17 million representing 0.89% of the overall portfolio. FedEx Corporation(NYSE:FDX) fell 4.6% in the first quarter of 2015. Other notable names that had been reducing their position in FedEx Corporation(NYSE:FDX) include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Mason Hawkin’s Southeastern Asset Management by 24% and 38% respectively.
Disclosure: None
