At Insider Monkey we track the activity of some of the best-performing hedge funds like Appaloosa Management, Baupost, and Third Point because we determined that some of the stocks that they are collectively bullish on can help us generate returns above the broader indices. Out of thousands of stocks that hedge funds invest in, small-caps can provide the best returns over the long term due to the fact that these companies are less efficiently priced and are usually under the radars of mass-media, analysts and dumb money. This is why we follow the smart money moves in the small-cap space.
The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI) has seen an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently. At the end of this article we will also compare RUBI to other stocks including Coherus Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CHRS), Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI), and Lydall, Inc. (NYSE:LDL) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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At Insider Monkey, we’ve developed an investment strategy that has delivered market-beating returns over the past 12 months. Our strategy identifies the 100 best-performing funds of the previous quarter from among the collection of 700+ successful funds that we track in our database, which we accomplish using our returns methodology. We then study the portfolios of those 100 funds using the latest 13F data to uncover the 30 most popular mid-cap stocks (market caps of between $1 billion and $10 billion) among them to hold until the next filing period. This strategy delivered 18% gains over the past 12 months, more than doubling the 8% returns enjoyed by the S&P 500 ETFs.
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Now, let’s go over the new action regarding The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI).
Hedge fund activity in The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI)
Heading into the fourth quarter of 2016, a total of 24 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, up 9% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Ahmet Okumus’s Okumus Fund Management has the most valuable position in The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI), worth close to $8.9 million and amounting to 2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by AQR Capital Management, led by Cliff Asness, holding a $7.3 million position; less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other professional money managers that are bullish include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Brian C. Freckmann’s Lyon Street Capital and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Okumus Fund Management, managed by Ahmet Okumus, established the most outsized position in The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI). Phil Frohlich’s Prescott Group Capital Management also initiated a $4.1 million position during the quarter according to the fund’s latest 13F filing. The following funds were also among the new RUBI investors: Zeke Ashton’s Centaur Capital Partners, Jim Roumell’s Roumell Asset Management, and Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI). These stocks are Coherus Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CHRS), Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI), Lydall, Inc. (NYSE:LDL), and Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO). This group of stocks’ market values resemble RUBI’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHRS | 19 | 120944 | 5 |
| PPBI | 10 | 28960 | -3 |
| LDL | 12 | 67062 | -1 |
| VECO | 11 | 133447 | 1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 13 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $88 million. That figure was $59 million in RUBI’s case. Coherus Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CHRS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI) 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.
Disclosure: none.
