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.
In this article, we are going to take a closer look at Weibo Corp (ADR) (NASDAQ:WB). Overall, the company has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. At the end of this article we will also compare WB to other stocks including Fabrinet (NYSE:FN), Hub Group Inc (NASDAQ:HUBG), and Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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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Hedge fund activity in Weibo Corp (ADR) (NASDAQ:WB)
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 29 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a rise of 142% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors has the biggest position in Weibo Corp (ADR) (NASDAQ:WB), worth close to $34.3 million. The second largest stake is held by Jericho Capital Asset Management, managed by Josh Resnick, which holds a $25.8 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include Kerr Neilson’s Platinum Asset Management, Robert Henry Lynch’s Aristeia Capital and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Now, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Two Sigma Advisors established the largest position in Weibo Corp (ADR) (NASDAQ:WB). Jericho Capital Asset Management also made a $25.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group were also among the new WB investors.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Weibo Corp (ADR) (NASDAQ:WB) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Fabrinet (NYSE:FN), Hub Group Inc (NASDAQ:HUBG), Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR), and The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to WB’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| FN | 23 | 205977 | 5 |
| HUBG | 21 | 286593 | 4 |
| LADR | 8 | 60676 | 1 |
| NAVG | 14 | 125833 | 3 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 16 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $170 million. That figure was $201 million in WB’s case. Fabrinet (NYSE:FN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Weibo Corp (ADR) (NASDAQ:WB) 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
