Consequently, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Driehaus Capital established the most valuable position in British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) (NYSEMKT:BTI) which had $15.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also initiated a $3.2 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BTI investors: Mike Vranos’ Ellington, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) (NYSEMKT:BTI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), and BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP). All of these stocks’ market caps match BTI’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMGN | 59 | 1863803 | 1 |
| TOT | 14 | 68492 | -2 |
| GILD | 87 | 3465193 | 2 |
| BP | 30 | 1064994 | -10 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 47 funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.62 billion. That figure was $639 million in BTI’s case. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) (NYSEMKT:BTI) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.
Disclosure: None
