As one would reasonably expect, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Cove Street Capital created the most outsized position in ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT). Cove Street Capital had $46.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Robert Pitts’ Steadfast Capital Management also made a $28 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new VSAT investors: Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, George McCabe’s Portolan Capital Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) but similarly valued. We will take a look at HEALTHSOUTH Corp. (NYSE:HLS), Leidos Holdings Inc (NYSE:LDOS), ONE Gas Inc (NYSE:OGS), and Endo Health Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ENDP). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble VSAT’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| HLS | 22 | 543448 | -3 |
| LDOS | 27 | 644414 | 1 |
| OGS | 11 | 66906 | -1 |
| ENDP | 32 | 797272 | -4 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 23 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $513 million. That figure was $1.88 billion in VSAT’s case. Endo Health Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ENDP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand ONE Gas Inc (NYSE:OGS) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) 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 ENDP might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.
Disclosure: None
