It was a rough fourth quarter for many hedge funds, which were naturally unable to overcome the big dip in the broad market, as the S&P 500 fell by about 7% during October and average hedge fund losing about 3%. The Russell 2000, composed of smaller companies, performed even worse, trailing the S&P by about 4 percentage points during the first half of Q4, as investors fled less-known quantities for safe havens. This was the case with hedge funds, who we heard were pulling money from the market amid the volatility, which included money from small-cap stocks, which they invest in at a higher rate than other investors. This action contributed to the greater decline in these stocks during the tumultuous period. We will study how this market volatility affected their sentiment towards COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) during the quarter below.
COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) investors should pay attention to a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently. SCOR was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2018. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with SCOR holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that SCOR isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
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We’re going to review the latest hedge fund action regarding COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR).
What does the smart money think about COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR)?
Heading into the fourth quarter of 2018, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -13% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in SCOR over the last 13 quarters. So, let’s examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
The largest stake in COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) was held by RGM Capital, which reported holding $67.6 million worth of stock at the end of September. It was followed by Bares Capital Management with a $64.1 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Lion Point, Royce & Associates, and GAMCO Investors.
Because COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) has experienced falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few funds that elected to cut their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. Intriguingly, Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management cut the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $5.5 million in stock, and Jonathan Barrett and Paul Segal’s Luminus Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $3.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at eXp World Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPI), Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:LOMA), SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:SSRM), and Summit Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:SMLP). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to SCOR’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXPI | 5 | 1449 | 3 |
| LOMA | 11 | 19866 | -1 |
| SSRM | 8 | 87909 | 0 |
| SMLP | 3 | 62118 | 0 |
| Average | 6.75 | 42836 | 0.5 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 6.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $43 million. That figure was $249 million in SCOR’s case. Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:LOMA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Summit Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:SMLP) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) is more popular among hedge funds. 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.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
