After several tireless days we have finished crunching the numbers from the more than 700 13F filings issued by the elite hedge funds and other investment firms that we track at Insider Monkey, which disclosed those firms’ equity portfolios as of September 30. The results of that effort will be put on display in this article, as we share valuable insight into the smart money sentiment towards WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD).
WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD) was in 26 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. WBMD has seen an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 20 hedge funds in our database with WBMD positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare WBMD to other stocks including Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI), Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR), and Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Follow Webmd Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD)
Follow Webmd Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD)
In the eyes of most investors, hedge funds are perceived as worthless, outdated financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, Our experts hone in on the moguls of this club, about 700 funds. These money managers preside over the lion’s share of the smart money’s total capital, and by tailing their first-class picks, Insider Monkey has figured out several investment strategies that have historically exceeded Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points annually for a decade in their back tests.
With all of this in mind, let’s take a peek at the recent action encompassing WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD).
Hedge fund activity in WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD)
Heading into Q4, a total of 26 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 30% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Michael Lowenstein’s Kensico Capital has the biggest position in WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD), worth close to $203.4 million, accounting for 4.3% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Freshford Capital Management, led by Michael Doheny, holding an $75.7 million position; the fund has 16.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money that hold long positions comprise Spencer M. Waxman’s Shannon River Fund Management, Glenn J. Krevlin’s Glenhill Advisors and D E Shaw.
As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Ulysses Management, managed by Joshua Nash, created the biggest position in WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD). Ulysses Management had $2.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP also initiated an $2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital, David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD) but similarly valued. These stocks are Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI), Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR), Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT), and Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to WBMD’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCI | 24 | 131666 | 7 |
| IVR | 13 | 79604 | -1 |
| AIT | 12 | 182331 | -4 |
| CORE | 9 | 66772 | -9 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 14.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $115 million. That figure was $523 million in WBMD’s case. Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD) 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.
