The Insider Monkey team has completed processing the quarterly 13F filings for the September quarter submitted by the hedge funds and other money managers included in our extensive database. Most hedge fund investors endured a turbulent quarter, which certainly propelled them to adjust their equity holdings so as to maintain their desired risk profile. As a result, the relevancy of these public filings and their content is indisputable, as they may reveal numerous high-potential stocks. The following article will discuss the smart money sentiment towards IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI).
IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment recently, as ownership of the stock among the funds in our database stumbled to 47 by the end of Q3. 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 EnCana Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ECA), Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS), and Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) to gather more data points.
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Today there are a large number of indicators stock market investors can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Some of the best indicators are hedge fund and insider trading signals. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a healthy amount (see the details here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to review the recent action surrounding IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI).
How have hedgies been trading IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI)?
At Q3’s end, a total of 47 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a 4% dip from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Dan Loeb’s Third Point has the most valuable position in IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI), worth close to $163.2 million, accounting for 1.5% of its total 13F portfolio. The second-largest stake is held by Luxor Capital Group, led by Christian Leone, holding a $132.8 million position; the fund has 3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other members of the smart money that hold long positions contain Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital, D E Shaw, and Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow’s Blue Mountain Capital.
Since IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) has experienced bearish sentiment from the smart money, we can see that there were a few hedgies that elected to cut their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Zach Schreiber’s Point State Capital cut the largest stake of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, worth close to $92.2 million in stock. Ben Gambill’s fund, Tiger Eye Capital, also dumped its stock, about $11.7 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI). We will take a look at EnCana Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ECA), Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS), Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC), and Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN). This group of stocks’ market values resemble IACI’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA | 27 | 416044 | 1 |
| AXS | 25 | 582721 | 1 |
| PPC | 28 | 389732 | -1 |
| WYNN | 34 | 1066706 | -1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 28.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $614 million. That figure was $1.58 billion in IACI’s case. Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) is the least popular one with only 25 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are quite 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.
