Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF), Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN): Here’s What This Billion-Dollar Market Wizard Has Been Buying

Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they’ve bought and sold, via “13F” filings. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.

Today let’s look at Tudor Investment, founded in 1980 by Paul Tudor Jones and featuring the flagship Tudor BVI fund. Jones, featured in Jack Schwager’s Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders, was one of the few to foresee the 1987 market crash (and he made many millions on it, as well). He’s known for focusing on short-term trading, equity, venture capital, debt, currency, and commodity markets. More recently, he’s known for confounding comments he made, suggesting that women with children shouldn’t be trading stocks.

The company’s reportable stock portfolio totaled $1.3 billion  in value as of March 31.

Interesting developments So what does Tudor Investment’s latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details.

The biggest new stock holdings are Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A). Other new holdings of interest include Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF). Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF)‘ stock is down more than 60% over the past year, and its 3.4% dividend yield is what’s left after a 76% dividend cut earlier this year. The coal market has been struggling lately, in part because low natural gas prices are making it less competitive, but some are optimistic, seeing coal prices rebounding and demand growing, especially abroad. The stock has fallen so far that some see it as attractive now, but others worry about significant debt and negative free cash flow. Indeed, last month more than 30% of the stock’s float had been shorted. On the plus side, though, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) just inked a long-term iron-ore-pellet deal.

Among holdings in which Tudor Investment increased its stake was motion-sensor specialist InvenSense Inc (NYSE:INVN). The stock popped up 8% recently, partly on bullish comments by Piper Jaffray analyst Auguste Richard. Bulls like its innovative technology that’s finding its way into many iDevices and think its stock is reasonably or attractively priced, too, with a forward P/E of just 19. Its last quarter featured revenue and earnings increasing by double and triple digits, respectively.

Tudor Investment reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN). Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN), specializing in speech-recognition software, took a dive in April after posting disappointing earnings. The company is threatened by weak demand, shrinking margins, and intensifying competition, as well as a change in how it’s compensated, with more focus on usage.