Express, Inc. (EXPR)Hedge Funds Are Snapping Up

Billionaire hedge fund managers such as Steve Cohen and Stan Druckenmiller can generate millions or even billions of dollars every year by pinning down high-potential small-cap stocks and pouring cash into these candidates. Small-cap stocks are overlooked by most investors, brokerage houses, and financial services hubs, while the unlimited research abilities of the big players within the hedge fund industry can easily identify the undervalued and high-potential stocks that reside the ignored corners of equity markets. There are numerous small-cap stocks that have turned out to be great winners, which is one of the main reasons the Insider Monkey team pays close attention to the hedge fund activity in relation to these stocks.

Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) has experienced an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. EXPR was in 34 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 30 hedge funds in our database with EXPR holdings at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX), WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD), and Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI) to gather more data points.

In today’s marketplace there are a large number of tools shareholders put to use to assess stocks. Two of the most useful tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outpace the market by a significant amount (see the details here).

Now, let’s take a look at the latest action regarding Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR).

How are hedge funds trading Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 34 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Matt Sirovich and Jeremy Mindich’s Scopia Capital has the largest position in Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR), worth close to $80.6 million, amounting to 1.7% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Robert Pohly of Samlyn Capital, with an $24.3 million position; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers that are bullish contain Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management and David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names have jumped into Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) headfirst. Samlyn Capital, managed by Robert Pohly, established a position in Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR). Samlyn Capital had $24.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management also initiated an $21.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new EXPR investors: Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR). These stocks are Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX), WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD), Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI), and Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble EXPR’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 23 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $285 million. That figure was $269 million in EXPR’s case. Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks, Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) 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.