Does HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR) represent a good buying opportunity at the moment? Let’s quickly check the hedge fund interest towards the company. Hedge fund firms constantly search out bright intellectuals and highly-experienced employees and throw away millions of dollars on satellite photos and other research activities, so it is no wonder why they tend to generate millions in profits each year. It is also true that some hedge fund players fail inconceivably on some occasions, but net net their stock picks have been generating superior risk-adjusted returns on average over the years.
Is HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR) a buy, sell, or hold? Investors who are in the know are becoming hopeful. The number of long hedge fund positions inched up by 12 lately. Our calculations also showed that HHR isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (see the video below). HHR was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of June. There were 0 hedge funds in our database with HHR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
Video: Click the image to watch our video about the top 5 most popular hedge fund stocks.
In the eyes of most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be slow, old investment tools of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open today, We look at the top tier of this club, about 750 funds. These money managers preside over the majority of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by keeping track of their highest performing investments, Insider Monkey has figured out several investment strategies that have historically exceeded Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s flagship hedge fund strategy outrun the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points per annum since its inception in May 2014. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 25.7% since February 2017 (through September 30th) even though the market was up more than 33% during the same period. We just shared a list of 10 short targets in our latest quarterly update .
In addition to following the biggest hedge funds for investment ideas, we also share stock pitches from conferences, investor letters and other sources like this one where the fund manager is talking about two under the radar 1000% return potential stocks: first one in internet infrastructure and the second in the heart of advertising market. We use hedge fund buy/sell signals to determine whether to conduct in-depth analysis of these stock ideas which take days. Let’s take a glance at the latest hedge fund action regarding HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR).
How have hedgies been trading HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR)?
Heading into the third quarter of 2019, a total of 12 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 12 from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards HHR over the last 16 quarters. So, let’s check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
Among these funds, Scopia Capital held the most valuable stake in HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR), which was worth $35.5 million at the end of the second quarter. On the second spot was Cadian Capital which amassed $14.8 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Laurion Capital Management, and Sloane Robinson Investment Management were also bullish on HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
Now, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Scopia Capital, managed by Matt Sirovich and Jeremy Mindich, created the biggest position in HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR). Scopia Capital had $35.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital also initiated a $14.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new HHR investors: Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Benjamin A. Smith’s Laurion Capital Management, and Hugh Sloane’s Sloane Robinson Investment Management.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR) but similarly valued. These stocks are Superior Group of Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGC), Mesa Air Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MESA), Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK), and Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:DFRG). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble HHR’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| SGC | 2 | 4585 | -3 |
| MESA | 19 | 62922 | 2 |
| EXK | 6 | 17798 | -1 |
| DFRG | 11 | 99142 | -3 |
| Average | 9.5 | 46112 | -1.25 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 9.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $46 million. That figure was $67 million in HHR’s case. Mesa Air Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MESA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Superior Group of Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGC) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. HeadHunter Group PLC (NASDAQ:HHR) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed that top 20 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 24.4% in 2019 through September 30th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 4 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on HHR as the stock returned 18.7% during the third quarter and outperformed the market. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.