As one would reasonably expect, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Two Sigma Advisors, led by John Overdeck and David Siegel, initiated the biggest position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN). Two Sigma Advisors had $0.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments also initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter. One more fund with brand new MORN position is Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) but similarly valued. These stocks are Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), Lancaster Colony Corp. (NASDAQ:LANC), National Instruments Corp (NASDAQ:NATI), and PrivateBancorp Inc (NASDAQ:PVTB). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to MORN’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSK | 27 | 262260 | 11 |
| LANC | 14 | 253505 | 0 |
| NATI | 24 | 372551 | 2 |
| PVTB | 23 | 551096 | -3 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 22 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $360 million. That figure was $188 million in MORN’s case. Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Lancaster Colony Corp. (NASDAQ:LANC) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard OSK might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.
Disclosure: None
