At Insider Monkey we follow around 730 of the best-performing investors and even though many of them lost money in the last several months, the history teaches us that over the long-run they still manage to beat the market, which is why it can be profitable for us to imitate their activity. Of course, even the best money managers can sometimes get it wrong, but following some of their picks gives us a better chance to outperform the crowd than picking a random stock and this is where our research comes in.
Hedge fund interest in SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:SKM) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS), Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS), and Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:QVCA) to gather more data points.
Follow S K Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM)
Follow S K Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM)
If you’d ask most traders, hedge funds are viewed as underperforming, outdated financial tools of years past. While there are more than an 8000 funds in operation today, Our experts hone in on the aristocrats of this group, approximately 700 funds. These money managers shepherd the majority of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by keeping track of their best investments, Insider Monkey has spotted several investment strategies that have historically surpassed the broader indices. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per annum for a decade in their back tests.
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the key action regarding SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:SKM).
How have hedgies been trading SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:SKM)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exist a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Orbis Investment Management, managed by William B. Gray, holds the largest position in SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:SKM). Orbis Investment Management has a $76.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by John Overdeck and David Siegel of Two Sigma Advisors, with a $3.7 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other members of the smart money that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management.
Earlier we told you that the aggregate hedge fund interest in the stock was unchanged and we view this as a negative development. Even though there weren’t any hedge funds dumping their holdings during the third quarter, there weren’t any hedge funds initiating brand new positions. This indicates that hedge funds, at the very best, perceive this stock as dead money and they haven’t identified any viable catalysts that can attract investor attention.
Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:SKM). We will take a look at Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS), Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS), Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:QVCA), and International Paper Company (NYSE:IP). This group of stocks’ market valuations match SKM’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADS | 27 | 340409 | 5 |
| NTRS | 22 | 422536 | -8 |
| QVCA | 67 | 4220735 | -4 |
| IP | 32 | 567135 | -3 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 37 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1388 million. That figure was $86 million in SKM’s case. Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:QVCA) is the most popular stock in this table, while the least popular one is Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS). In comparison, SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:SKM) with 7 bullish hedge fund positions, is even less popular than NTRS, which makes it the stock with the least hedge fund interest in this group. It is possible that the smart money isn’t’ behind this stock because investors consider it overpriced, due to them not being familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case, further detailed research is needed.
