Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital has filed its 13F with the SEC for the reporting period of June 30, 2015. The hedge fund has more than $5.59 billion worth of assets under management and its recent 13F exposes a public equity portfolio containing $3.40 billion in equities. Prior to starting Cadian Capital in 2007, Bannasch worked as a portfolio manager for the tech, media, and telecommunications fund of Perry Capital. The investment manager employs a longer term value approach while investing in small- and mid-cap companies. Its current equity portfolio is dominated by information technology stocks, which account for more than 59% of its overall portfolio value. Cadian Capital also has 53.82% of its equity portfolio dedicated towards its top ten stock investments. In this post, we will analyze the new technology stock picks of the hedge fund including LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), Ambarella Inc (NASDAQ:AMBA), and PROS Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRO).
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LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) ranks at the top in terms of the new technology stock picks of Eric Bannasch. The hedge fund manager initiated a new position in the online professional network consisting of 571,000 shares valued at $117.99 million. Despite stronger second quarter 2015 results, the shares of the professional network are down by 16.52% since their announcement on July 30 and by 18.5% year-to-date. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) was able to beat the revenue and earnings expectations by a huge margin with reported revenue of $712 million and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55 against market expectations of $679.80 million and $0.33 EPS, respectively. According to experts, the company released a sub-par outlook for the next quarter and the full financial year however. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) is expecting revenues of $745 million to $750 million for the third quarter with EPS of $0.43, along with divulging guidance of $2.94 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.19 for the 2015 fiscal year. Lansdowne Partners, led by Paul Ruddock and Steve Heinz, is one of the primary investors of LinkedIn Corp to have filed its 13F for the second quarter. The investment firm had 1.06 million shares of LinkedIn Corp in its portfolio with a market value of $219.87 million.
Cadian Capital has initiated a new position in Ambarella Inc (NASDAQ:AMBA) of 470,000 shares valued at $48.26 million. The semiconductor company is known for providing semiconductor-processing solutions to the camera industry, IP security industry, and wearable camera producers. The firm draws the majority of its revenue from its partnership with sports-camera maker, GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO), around 30% in total. Some experts consider this reliance on GoPro as a risky prospect, but the company is continuously working to expand its revenue streams. IP security cameras contribute up to 45% of its revenue and the growth in the wearable camera market is another promising prospect for Ambarella Inc (NASDAQ:AMBA). The shares of the chipmaker were down after a report from Citron Research, which highlighted commoditization risks along with a lack of innovation at the company. However, strong quarterly results from GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO), along with positive ratings from other analysts helped the company cope with the negative slide. Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management reported an equity position in the company at the end of the second quarter of 1.00 million shares valued at $103.17 million.
PROS Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRO) is another new technology addition to the portfolio of Cadian Capital, which has 2.24 million shares valued at $47.25 million. The technology company is known for offering big data software applications along with consulting services to its clients. The big data solutions company has had a difficult run so far in 2015, with its shares declining by 22.78% year-to-date. PROS Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRO) was able to beat the markets’ earnings expectations by $0.03 with a reported loss of $0.11 per share, while its revenue of $41.70 million was also slightly higher than Wall Street’s estimate. During the second quarter, the company’s revenue declined by 6% year-over-year and its earnings depreciated by nearly 280% in comparison with the same quarter of 2014. Archon Capital Management, managed by Constantinos J. Christofilis was a major shareholder of the company at the end of the second quarter, holding 531,930 shares valued at $11.23 million, though it slashed its position by 30% in the second quarter.
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