Is Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR) a buy right now? Hedge funds are in an optimistic mood. The number of long hedge fund bets increased by 4 recently.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of metrics investors can use to monitor their holdings. A couple of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can trounce the market by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Equally as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. Obviously, there are plenty of reasons for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a gander at the latest action encompassing Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR).
Hedge fund activity in Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR)
Heading into Q2, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 40% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Paulson & Co, managed by John Paulson, holds the largest position in Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR). Paulson & Co has a $196.2 million position in the stock, comprising 1.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is George Soros of Soros Fund Management, with a $90.7 million position; the fund has 1.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Howard Marks’s Oaktree Capital Management, Joshua Friedman and Mitchell Julis’s Canyon Capital Advisors and Daniel Lewis’s Orange Capital.
As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Orange Capital, managed by Daniel Lewis, established the largest position in Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR). Orange Capital had 7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management also initiated a $4.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new CZR positions are Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, and Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital.
How are insiders trading Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR). These stocks are Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc (NYSE:PNK), Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASCA), Penn National Gaming, Inc (NASDAQ:PENN), Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC), and Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN). All of these stocks are in the resorts & casinos industry and their market caps are similar to CZR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc (NYSE:PNK) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASCA) | 26 | 0 | 1 |
| Penn National Gaming, Inc (NASDAQ:PENN) | 31 | 3 | 8 |
| Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) | 15 | 1 | 6 |
| Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) | 14 | 0 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR) is an important part of this process.
