It is important to track some of the filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), especially 13Gs or 13Ds, because they reveal the latest moves in the hedge fund industry. Today, we would like to take a closer look to some of the recent filings made by Lyon Street Capital, IBC Funds, and Citadel. These funds recently reported buys in Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ:LCUT), Cereplast Inc (OTCMKTS:CERP), and Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK) respectively.
Halcon Resources
Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, now holds over 18 million shares in Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK). The position is estimated to be worth $118 million and represents about 4.97% of its outstanding shares. In this way, the new equity in Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK) may become a Top-100 holding in Citadel’s 13F portfolio next quarter.
Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK) is a company engaged in oil and gas exploration. We track historical 13Fs from Citadel Investment Group, as well as other hedge funds, which represent a part of our investment strategies. For example, we have discovered that the most popular small cap stocks among hedge funds bring an excess return of approximately 18 percentage points annually.
According to our database, Ken Griffin’s fund had slightly more than 12 million shares of Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK) at the beginning of the year. The operating revenue of Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK) more than doubled in 2012, compared to 2011, but production costs also increased together with SGA expenses. That’s why the company posted an operating loss for 2012, against a profit of $20 million a year before that.
Lifetime Brands
Lyon Street Capital reported a 7% increase in its holding of Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ:LCUT). The San-Francisco-based Lyon Street owns around 832,100 shares in Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ:LCUT), which represent 6.5% of the company, according to the SEC filing. Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ:LCUT) is engaged in design, sourcing and distribution of branded kitchenware, tabletop and other home products.
The company reported $154.8 million in consolidated net sales in the fourth quarter of 2012, which represent a 12.5% increase on the year, while net income advanced to $15.2 million, compared to $5.4 million in the previous 12 month period. In 2012, consolidated net sales grew by 9.5% to $468.8 million, and net income totalled $20.9 million, versus $14.1 million in 2011, the company said in a statement.
Cereplast
IBC Funds increased its holding in Cereplast Inc (OTCMKTS:CERP) to more than 28.8 million shares from 17.4 million shares reported in February. The new position now represents 8.7% of the company, according to the SEC filing. Cereplast Inc (OTCMKTS:CERP), specialized in producing bioplastic resins, reported preliminary revenue results for the first three months of 2013.
According to a statement, Cereplast Inc (OTCMKTS:CERP) anticipates revenue situated between $900,000 and $1.0 million, which is more than it booked for the entire 2012 fiscal year. “We are pleased with our encouraging preliminary revenue results during the first quarter of 2013 and are optimistic for the remainder of 2013. In Italy alone, we conservatively estimate our market opportunity to be approximately $50 million,” the statement quoted Cereplast Inc (OTCMKTS:CERP)’s Chairman and CEO, Frederic Scheer.
Final thoughts
There are thousands of hedge fund trades every year, and while most of these show up in the headlines sooner or later, it’s crucial to be on top of them, in real-time. Often times, when a smaller cap stock like Cereplast or the others mentioned above has a big day, a significant portion of Mr. Market has not picked up on why shares have moved the way they did.
It is this time-differential, then, that can benefit ardent investors, and we’re making it easy. Follow us on Twitter @insidermonkey to be one step ahead of your peers in the hedge fund world.
Disclosure: none
