Eric Mindich‘s Eton Park Capital Management has increased its passive stake in Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:LVNTA). The fund disclosed holding over 3.79 million shares of the company’s Series A Liberty Ventures Common Stock, which represent 5.36% of class, in a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Previously the position contained almost 2.66 million shares.
Eton Park Capital is a fund that owns a diversified equity portfolio, which is valued at around $6.7 billion. The fund performed poorly during the first half of the year, its main portfolio returning some 1.42% and 1.12% during the first and second quarter respectively. In its letter to investors for the second quarter, Mr. Mindich said that the fund is taking advantage of decine in implied volatility and integrates derivatives into its portfolio. So far, the fund’s largest equity position is represented by 18.25 million shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) under the ‘Call’ options amassing over 14% of the equity portfolio value. The largest long-stake is in CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), of which the fund owns 5.69 million shares. The stock of CBS lost almost 20% year-to-date, although it is still around 7% up since the second quarter of 2013, when Eton Park first revealed a stake in the company.
The stock of Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:LVNTA) dropped significantly in August, after gaining around 19%. Currently the stock is down by over 50% year-to-date. The drop however has been perceived as an opportunity by some investors. Aside from Mr. Mindich who has recently acquired shares, Ken Griffin also reported raising his exposure to the stock last month. At the beginning of September, Mr. Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group disclosed ownership of 4.13 million shares of the company’s class A stock, from 1.06 million shares held previously. Currently, Citadel’s stake amasses 5.8% of the class.
Peter Adam Hochfelder‘s Brahman Capital is another shareholder of Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:LVNTA), which owns 8.0 million shares as of the end of June. David E. Shaw‘s D E Shaw increased its stake by 35% during the second quarter and holds 5.78 million shares as of the end of June.
Moreover, after the stock slumped, several insiders sold some shares of the company at around $29 apiece. However, at the beginning at the year, insiders have been disposing of shares at over $119 per unit.
A couple of days before Eton Park Capital increased its position in the company, Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:LVNTA) said that it will split into two trading stocks for its cable shopping business QVC Group and another one for its digital commerce. The shareholders of the company will receive around 68 million shares of Liberty Ventures, while Liberty Ventures will receive around $1 billion under the terms of the deal.
With Eton Park being the second investor that is bullish on Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:LVNTA) over the last couple of months, the stock is worth keeping on the watchlist. Moreover, a couple of days ago, Citigroup raised the rating on the stock to ‘Hold’ from ‘Sell’, which coincides with the consensus from other analysts.
Disclosure: none
