In two new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ken Griffin‘s Citadel Investment Group disclosed two bullish moves involving Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSE) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK). In Rosetta Resources, Citadel boosted its position to nearly 3.92 million shares from 543,100 shares held previously, while in JAKKS Pacific, the fund revealed a new long position, which contains around 1.25 million shares. In this way, Citadel currently owns 6.4% of Rosetta Resources’ common stock and 5.1% of JAKKS Pacific, both stakes being passive by nature.
Mr. Griffin has been bullish amid a high market volatility and has raised his fund’s exposure to many positions. In September, Citadel raised its stake in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) to 9.37 million class A shares, from 3.62 million shares, currently holding 5.4% of the company’s class A stock. In Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS) and Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM), the fund surged its position to 3.17 million shares and 4.0 million shares respectively. A couple of weeks ago, Citadel raised its stake in Angie’s List Inc (NASDAQ:ANGI) to 3.38 million shares, equal to 5.8% of the common stock, from 133,700 shares held previously.
All the companies in which Mr. Griffin has boosted its stake have declined significantly amid an overall market sell-off. However, many investors follow the principle to “buy when everyone is selling.” Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSE) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) also lost some ground since the beginning of the year. The stock of Rosetta lost around 25% year-to-date, while JAKKS inched down by around 1.50%.
Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSE) is a $2.2 billion independnt oil exploration and production company that specializes in purchasing and development of onshore energy resources in the US. A couple of days after Citadel increased its stake in the company, Rosetta Resources reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2014 and announced its plans for the next year. The company managed to increased its total daily production by an annual 44% to 73.5 MBoe/d and expects the full-year production between 65 and 66 MBoe/d. The company also posted a significant increase in its net income, which amounted to $1.27 per share, from $0.67 per share a year ago. The revenue also surged to $365.6 million, from $194.6 million in the third quarter of 2013. On the back of these results, Citigroup reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating for Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSE)’s stock, but reduced the price target to $49 from $60. KLR Group, on the other hand, upgraded the rating to ‘Buy’ and cut the target price to $49 from $56.
Aside from Mr. Griffin, another investor that is bullish on Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSE) is Steven Cohen. Mr. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management initiated a stake in the company during the second quarter and reported holding 1.59 million shares in its latest 13F filing.
In JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK), Citadel has not held any shares before. However, in its latest 13F, the fund disclosed holding ‘Call’ and ‘Put’ options of the stock. JAKKS Pacific is a small-cap multi-brand toy company that is engaged in design, production, marketing and distribution of toys, related products, pet toys kids furniture and other products. Citadel acquired shares of the company after JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) reported its financial results for the third quarter, posting net sales of $349.4 million, up by 12% on the year, while its net income went up to $44.1 million, from $36.6 million a year ago.
Michael Zimmerman’s Prentice Capital Management and Peter S. Park’s Park West Asset Management both upped their exposure to JAKKS Pacific during the second quarter, by 37% and 160% respectively. Prentice Capital reported holding around 1.29 million shares in its latest 13F, while Park West disclosed ownership of 1.21 million shares.
Overall, knowing that Ken Griffin has a good track record, becoming a self-made billionaire and managing one of the largest hedge funds in the world. Even though Citadel had an abysmall return during the financial crisis, losing over 50%, it managed to recover quickly. This shows why following Citadel’s bullish moves can be important for smaller investors, who can beat the market by piggybacking bullish moves made by larger money managers.
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