March 1, 2012, 6:24 a.m. EST
Article from The Market Watch
By Meena Krishnamsetty
You probably know by now that Apple AAPL -0.12% is the most popular stock among hedge funds (see the 10 most popular stocks among hedge funds ). What you didn't know is that 13 of the 375 hedge funds we are tracking sold their Apple holdings, and only 15 hedge funds initiated new positions. Overall, the increase in the number of hedge funds with bullish Apple bets was only 2. Hedge funds' sentiment towards Apple didn't change much during the fourth quarter.
However, they’ve gotten bullish about several other stocks, and in this article we are going to take a look at the ones more hedge funds are warming up to. In order to be included in this list, each stock has to have a minimum of 50 hedge funds with bullish bets.
1. Google GOOG -0.04% : The number of hedge funds with bullish Google bets increased by 12 during the fourth quarter. There were 108 hedge funds with a total of $10.9 billion in Google bets. George Soros increased his stake by more than $150 million. Lansdowne Partners invested nearly half a billion dollars in Google. We are very bullish about mega-cap tech stocks.
2. Bank of America BAC -0.12% : When John Paulson was winding down his huge bet on Bank of America, other hedge funds were buying it. The number of hedge funds with bullish BAC bets increased by 10 during the fourth quarter. The stock is now the fifth most popular among hedge funds. Ken Heebner initiated the biggest new position during the fourth quarter.
3. General Motors GM -0.08% : The number of hedge funds with bullish GM bets increased by 9 during the fourth quarter. GM is now the sixth most popular stock among hedge funds, and the stock is trading at ridiculously low forward P/E multiples. David Einhorn is a huge fan of GM.
4. Sanofi-Aventis SNY +0.08% : The stock saw an increase of 13 hedge funds during the fourth quarter. It is the second most popular drug manufacturer after Pfizer PFE -0.37% . Warren Buffett has SNY in his portfolio.
5. Goldman Sachs GS +0.03% : Goldman Sachs is gaining popularity among hedge funds after dipping below $90 a share. The number of hedge funds with bullish GS positions increased by 14 during the fourth quarter. Boykin Curry was predicting that GS will reach $150 over the next couple of years. He has the largest position in Goldman Sachs among the 375 hedge funds we are tracking.
6. EMC Corp. EMC -0.26% : The stock saw an increase of 16 hedge funds. There were 37 hedge funds with EMC positions at the end of September, so the increase is really significant. Ken Fisher had more than $450 million invested in the stock.
7. Lowe's LOW +0.03% : The seventh spot actually belongs to El Paso EP +0.89% , but we excluded it from the rankings because it is a takeover candidate. Hedge funds that are engaged in merger arbitrage generally initiate new positions in target stocks. Lowe's saw an increase of 14 hedge funds during the fourth quarter. Bill Ackman sold his $400+ million position in the stock during the fourth quarter but other hedge funds stepped in.
About Meena Krishnamsetty
Ms. Krishnamsetty is editor and co-founder of Insider Monkey, a finance website that provides free insider trading and hedge-fund stock-holdings data. Her articles draw upon the research and analytics of co-founder Dr. Ian Dogan, Insider Monkey's research director, who holds a Ph.D. in financial economics with a specialization in insider trading. Dogan has provided consulting services to institutional investors and hedge funds, and managed a $200+ million fund using a strategy he developed tracking insider transactions. Dogan authored the insider trading chapter of the soon-to- be-published “The Handbook of Investment Anomalies” by Zacks Investment Research. Prior to Insider Monkey, Krishnamsetty worked for Bloomberg Television, CNBC, NPR and in risk management at Marsh & McLennan. Krishnamsetty has an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Article from The Market Watch
