Consequently, some big names have jumped into KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) headfirst. Water Island Capital, managed by John Orrico, created the most outsized position in KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC). Water Island Capital had $26.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies also initiated an $11.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new KLAC investors: Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management, Noam Gottesman’s GLG Partners, and Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) but similarly valued. These stocks are Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG), Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP), and AMERCO (NASDAQ:UHAL). This group of stocks’ market caps match KLAC’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPG | 36 | 2103222 | -5 |
| FIT | 20 | 186790 | -7 |
| CNP | 25 | 267330 | 0 |
| UHAL | 27 | 290247 | 5 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 27 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $712 million. That figure was $256 million in KLAC’s case. Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) is the least popular one with only 20 bullish hedge fund positions. KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard IPG might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
