Are Investors Right to Be Bullish On Rovi Corporation (ROVI)?

At Insider Monkey, we pore over the filings of more than 700 top investment firms every quarter, a process we have now completed for the latest reporting period. The data we’ve gathered as a result gives us access to a wealth of collective knowledge based on these firms’ portfolio holdings as of September 30. In this article, we will use that wealth of knowledge to determine whether or not Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI) makes for a good investment right now.

Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI) shareholders have witnessed an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI) was in 22 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 20 hedge funds in our database with Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article, we will also compare Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI) to other stocks, including Dominion Diamond Corp (NYSE:DDC), New Senior Investment Group Inc (NYSE:SNR), and Just Energy Group, Inc. Ordinary Shares (Canada) (NYSE:JE) to get a better sense of its popularity.

To the average investor, there are plenty of formulas stock traders use to assess publicly traded companies. A duo of the best formulas are hedge fund and insider trading moves. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can beat the broader indices by a very impressive margin (see the details here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s go over the new action encompassing Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI).

How are hedge funds trading Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI)?

At the end of Q3, a total of 22 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, an increase of 10% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, George Soros’ Soros Fund Management holds the number one position in Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI). Soros Fund Management has a $42.7 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. On Soros Fund Management’s heels is Engaged Capital, led by Glenn W. Welling, holding a $10.5 million position; the fund has 6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Hedge funds and other institutional investors that are bullish contain Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Now, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Point72 Asset Management, family office managed by Steve Cohen, initiated the biggest position in Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI). The fund had $3.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Wojciech Uzdelewicz’s Espalier Global Management also made a $2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ROVI investors: Michael Pollack’s Destrier Capital, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.

Let’s now take a look at the hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Dominion Diamond Corp (NYSE:DDC), New Senior Investment Group Inc (NYSE:SNR), Just Energy Group, Inc. Ordinary Shares (Canada) (NYSE:JE), and HeartWare International Inc (NASDAQ:HTWR). This group of stocks’ market values is similar to Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI)’s market value.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 17 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $141 million, with HeartWare International Inc (NASDAQ:HTWR) attracting the largest number of investments, while Just Energy Group, Inc. Ordinary Shares (Canada) (NYSE:JE) attracting the least. Compared to these stocks, Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI) is more popular among hedge funds, bagging investments worth $96 million. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.