Seeing as Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) has faced a bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there were a few hedge funds that slashed their positions entirely last quarter. At the top of the heap, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital dumped the biggest position of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $23.3 million in stock, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $15.7 million worth of shares. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 6 funds last quarter.
Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Sasol Limited (ADR) (NYSE:SSL), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR), and Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). This group of stocks’ market valuations resembles Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP)’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSL | 10 | 26608 | 3 |
| PXD | 58 | 4236272 | 0 |
| MAR | 29 | 494155 | -2 |
| AMAT | 54 | 1598797 | -11 |
As you can see, these stocks had an average of 38 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.59 billion. That figure was $651 million in Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP)’s case. Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Sasol Limited (ADR) (NYSE:SSL) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) 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, Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
