Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) was in 16 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. DISCA has seen a decrease in hedge fund interest of late. There were 17 hedge funds in our database with DISCA holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
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Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the key action surrounding Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA).
What does the smart money think about Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -6% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors had the biggest position in Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA), worth close to $47.9 million, comprising 0.3% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Alexander Mitchell of Scopus Asset Management, with a $40.2 million position; the fund has 1.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include David Harding’s Winton Capital Management, Pasco Alfaro / Richard Tumure’s Miura Global Management and Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management.
Since Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) has experienced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there were a few hedge funds that decided to sell off their full holdings heading into Q2. It’s worth mentioning that David Gallo’s Valinor Management LLC said goodbye to the biggest position of the 450+ funds we watch, comprising an estimated $24.5 million in stock.. Murray Stahl’s fund, Horizon Asset Management, also dropped its stock, about $18.1 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds heading into Q2.
What have insiders been doing with Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA). These stocks are Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB), Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC), Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ:VMED), DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), and Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA). All of these stocks are in the catv systems industry and their market caps are similar to DISCA’s market cap.