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Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB) The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We have processed the filings of the more than 700 world-class investment firms that we track and now have access to the collective wisdom contained in these filings, which are based on their March 31 holdings, data that is available nowhere else. Should you consider Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB) for your portfolio? We'll look to this invaluable collective wisdom for the answer. Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB)shareholders have witnessed an increase in support from the world's most elite money managers of late.ACBwas in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with ACB positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that acb isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. We're going to take a glance at the fresh hedge fund action regarding Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 22% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards ACB over the last 15 quarters. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,AQR Capital Managementheld the most valuable stake in Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB), which was worth $64.3 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Peconic Partners LLC which amassed $22.4 million worth of shares. Moreover, Citadel Investment Group, Citadel Investment Group, and Renaissance Technologies were also bullish on Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers have jumped into Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB) headfirst.Peconic Partners LLC, managed by William Harnisch, created the most valuable position in Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB). Peconic Partners LLC had $22.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologiesalso made a $7.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ACB investors: Kenneth Tropin'sGraham Capital Management, Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management, and Nick Niell'sArrowgrass Capital Partners. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB). We will take a look at EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO), Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MHK), and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF). All of these stocks' market caps match ACB's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position EPAM,21,72308,-1 BIO,37,888698,2 MHK,34,1887240,2 CF,32,763506,-10 Average,31,902938,-1.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 31 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $903 million. That figure was $116 million in ACB's case. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM) is the least popular one with only 21 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB) is even less popular than EPAM. Hedge funds dodged a bullet by taking a bearish stance towards ACB. Our calculations showed that the top 20 most popular hedge fund stocks returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ACB wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was very bearish); ACB investors were disappointed as the stock returned -17.4% during the same time frame and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in the second quarter. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (CVTI) Is Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI) a good investment right now? We check hedge fund and billionaire investor sentiment before delving into hours of research. Hedge funds spend millions of dollars on Ivy League graduates, expert networks, and get tips from investment bankers and industry insiders. Sure they sometimes fail miserably, but their consensus stock picks historically outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk factors. IsCovenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI)a buy right now? Investors who are in the know are becoming less hopeful. The number of bullish hedge fund bets retreated by 1 recently. Our calculations also showed that CVTI isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. [caption id="attachment_745225" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Noam Gottesman, GLG Partners[/caption] We're going to view the key hedge fund action regarding Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI). At Q1's end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -8% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in CVTI over the last 15 quarters. With hedgies' capital changing hands, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions). Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey,Portolan Capital Management, managed by George McCabe, holds the biggest position in Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI). Portolan Capital Management has a $6.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.7% of its 13F portfolio. On Portolan Capital Management's heels is Cliff Asness ofAQR Capital Management, with a $4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds and institutional investors that hold long positions consist of John Overdeck and David Siegel'sTwo Sigma Advisors, Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partnersand D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw. Seeing as Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI) has faced a decline in interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there lies a certain "tier" of hedgies that slashed their full holdings in the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPcut the biggest investment of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, valued at about $1.9 million in stock, and Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow's Blue Mountain Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.6 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds in the third quarter. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at PCSB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PCSB), Unity Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBX), Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN), and Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA). This group of stocks' market caps match CVTI's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position PCSB,9,26151,0 UBX,4,9494,2 TITN,12,18228,-3 ARTNA,3,17145,-2 Average,7,17755,-0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 7 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $18 million. That figure was $21 million in CVTI's case. Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately CVTI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on CVTI were disappointed as the stock returned -23% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Valley National Bancorp (VLY) Does Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) represent a good buying opportunity at the moment? Let’s quickly check the hedge fund interest towards the company. Hedge fund firms constantly search out bright intellectuals and highly-experienced employees and throw away millions of dollars on satellite photos and other research activities, so it is no wonder why they tend to generate millions in profits each year. It is also true that some hedge fund players fail inconceivably on some occasions, but net net their stock picks have been generating superior risk-adjusted returns on average over the years. Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world's most elite money managers in recent months.VLYwas in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with VLY positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that vly isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the eyes of most stock holders, hedge funds are assumed to be underperforming, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open today, We choose to focus on the crème de la crème of this club, approximately 750 funds. These money managers command bulk of all hedge funds' total asset base, and by observing their inimitable investments, Insider Monkey has unsheathed numerous investment strategies that have historically outperformed the broader indices. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). Let's take a look at the fresh hedge fund action regarding Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 38% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 10 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in VLY a year ago. With hedge funds' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions). Among these funds,Renaissance Technologiesheld the most valuable stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY), which was worth $11.9 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Balyasny Asset Management which amassed $5.8 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Citadel Investment Group, and Stevens Capital Management were also bullish on Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were leading the bulls' herd.Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, initiated the most valuable position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY). Balyasny Asset Management had $5.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementalso made a $3.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new VLY investors: Matthew Tewksbury'sStevens Capital Management, Steve Cohen'sPoint72 Asset Management, and Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) but similarly valued. These stocks are FS KKR Capital Corp. (NYSE:FSK), Apergy Corporation (NYSE:APY), Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU), and RBC Bearings Incorporated (NASDAQ:ROLL). This group of stocks' market values are similar to VLY's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position FSK,19,202328,-1 APY,12,126003,-1 MANU,11,51988,2 ROLL,11,55043,5 Average,13.25,108841,1.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $109 million. That figure was $27 million in VLY's case. FS KKR Capital Corp. (NYSE:FSK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) is even less popular than MANU. Hedge funds clearly dropped the ball on VLY as the stock delivered strong returns, though hedge funds' consensus picks still generated respectable returns. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on VLY as the stock returned 9.6% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Manchester United PLC (MANU) The 700+ hedge funds and famous money managers tracked by Insider Monkey have already compiled and submitted their 13F filings for the first quarter, which unveil their equity positions as of March 31. We went through these filings, fixed typos and other more significant errors and identified the changes in hedge fund portfolios. Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over, so this article is set to reveal the smart money sentiment towards Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU). Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU)investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world's largest hedge funds recently. Our calculations also showed that MANU isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to go over the fresh hedge fund action regarding Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 22% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in MANU over the last 15 quarters. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. More specifically,Lansdowne Partnerswas the largest shareholder of Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU), with a stake worth $26.8 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Lansdowne Partners was Renaissance Technologies, which amassed a stake valued at $11 million. D E Shaw, Alyeska Investment Group, and Citadel Investment Group were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Consequently, key money managers have been driving this bullishness.Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, established the biggest call position in Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU). Millennium Management had $0.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt.also made a $0.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new MANU position is Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle'sSpringbok Capital. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU) but similarly valued. These stocks are RBC Bearings Incorporated (NASDAQ:ROLL), Tempur Sealy International Inc. (NYSE:TPX), Envestnet Inc (NYSE:ENV), and UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to MANU's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ROLL,11,55043,5 TPX,29,1175502,-2 ENV,17,104260,5 UMBF,9,49060,-2 Average,16.5,345966,1.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 16.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $346 million. That figure was $52 million in MANU's case. Tempur Sealy International Inc. (NYSE:TPX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately MANU wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); MANU investors were disappointed as the stock returned -6% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Supreme Court to rule on Trump bid to end 'dreamers' program WASHINGTON (AP) Adding a high-stakes immigration case to its election-year agenda, the Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether President Donald Trump can terminate an Obama-era program shielding young migrants from deportation. The justices' order sets up legal arguments for late fall or early winter, with a decision likely by June 2020 as Trump campaigns for re-election. The president ordered an end to the program known as DACA in 2017, sparking protests and a congressional effort to salvage it. That effort failed, but federal courts in California, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have blocked him from ending it immediately. A federal judge in Texas has declared the program is illegal, but refused to order it halted . The program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protects about 700,000 people, known as dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families that overstayed visas. The DACA protections seem certain to remain in effect at least until the high court issues its decision. The administration had asked the court to take up and decide the appeals by the end of this month. The justices declined to do so and held on to the appeals for nearly five months with no action and no explanation. The court did nothing Friday to clear up the reasons for the long delay, although immigration experts have speculated that the court could have been waiting for other appellate rulings, legislation in Congress that would have put the program on a surer footing or additional administration action. Since entering the White House, Trump has intermittently expressed a willingness to create a pathway to citizenship for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who've been protected by DACA. But he's coupled it with demands to tighten legal immigration and to build his long wall along the Mexican border conditions that Democrats have largely rejected. With the 2020 presidential and congressional election seasons underway or rapidly approaching, it seems unlikely that either party would be willing to compromise on immigration , a touchstone for both parties' base voters. Three decades of Washington gridlock over the issue underscore how fraught it has been for lawmakers, and there's little reason to think a deal is at hand. Story continues On the campaign trail, nearly all of the two dozen Democratic presidential candidates have pledged to work with Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally beginning with the dreamers. On the other hand, Trump sees his hardline immigration policies as a winning campaign issue that can energize his supporters. "We are pleased the Supreme Court agreed that this issue needs resolution. We look forward to presenting our case before the court," Justice Department spokesman Alexei Woltornist said. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a conference call with reporters that the high court's ruling Thursday barring, for now, a citizenship question on the 2020 census "demonstrates that the court's not going to be fooled by the Trump administration's clearly disingenuous efforts when it comes to trying to undo and backslide on a lot of the laws and regulations that are there to protect our health and our welfare." The Obama administration created the DACA program in 2012 to provide work permits and protection from deportation to people who, in many cases, have no memory of any home other than the United States. The Trump administration has said it moved to end the program under the threat of a lawsuit from Texas and other states that raised the prospect of a chaotic end to DACA. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions determined the program to be unlawful on the grounds that President Barack Obama did not have the authority to adopt it in the first place. Sessions cited a 2015 ruling by the federal appeals court in New Orleans that blocked a separate immigration policy implemented by Obama and the expansion of the DACA program. Texas and other Republican-led states eventually did sue and won a partial victory in a federal court in Texas. Civil rights groups, advocates for immigrants and Democratic-led states all have sued to prevent the end of the program. In November, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled that the administration decision to end DACA was arbitrary and capricious. The appeals court noted that the federal government has a long and well-established history of using its discretion not to enforce immigration law against certain categories of people. While the federal government might be able to end DACA for policy reasons under its own discretion, it can't do so based on Sessions' faulty belief that the program exceeds federal authority, the court held. ___ Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Will Weissert and Don Thompson, in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.
UPDATE 1-Mexico looking at issuing its first Panda bond -finance ministry (Adds comments on Green bonds, Pemex, context) By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY, June 28 (Reuters) - Mexico is analyzing whether to issue its first Panda bond, or debt denominated in Chinese yuan, though such a step to broaden the country's investor base would not take place before next year, a senior finance ministry official said on Friday. Speaking a day after Mexico's government gave details of its latest Samurai bond - debt denominated in Japanese yen - Gabriel Yorio, head of the finance ministry's public debt office, said Mexico was mulling more foreign currency issuance. "There are ideas like the Panda, ideas like whether we should return to Swiss francs," he told Reuters in an interview. In recent months, an increasing number of countries have issued Panda bonds that target mainland Chinese investors. Yorio said yuan-denominated debt "could be the next big market." "I would think that if we did something like that, it could maybe be next year," he added, noting that Mexico's government still needed time to consider a number of factors. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard is due to visit China next week. If Mexico did pursue the Panda option, it would not be planning to make the bond placement a one-off, Yorio noted. He said Mexico is also giving "serious" consideration to issuing Green bonds, aimed at funding environmentally-friendly projects. That would likely take place next year at the earliest, the official said. The Green bonds could be tranches in a bigger placement, Yorio said, giving the example of the Samurai bond this week, which was issued in offerings of varying maturities. "(It could be) half Green, the other half conventional," he said, saying a sum of around $500 million might be a volume Mexico would consider for Green issuance. The administration of leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to keep a tight rein on the federal budget, but earlier this month Mexico suffered a downgrade to its sovereign credit rating from ratings agency Fitch. Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is saddled with financial debt of some $106 billion, and rating agencies and other institutions have repeatedly flagged their concerns about the sustainability of the firm's finances. Yorio acknowledged that Pemex's situation was weighing on investor sentiment, but said that he had noted more concern about U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States. (Reporting by Dave Graham; editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Rosalba O'Brien)
12 iPhone and Android apps to get just in time for July 4 From podcasts and recipes to global scavenger hunts and quirky roadside attractions, these iPhone and Android apps can help you kickstart summer.
EU, Mercosur strike trade pact, defying protectionist wave By Philip Blenkinsop and Leika Kihara BRUSSELS/OSAKA (Reuters) - The European Union and South American bloc Mercosur agreed a free trade treaty on Friday, concluding two decades of talks and committing to more open markets in the face of a rising tide of protectionism. The EU becomes the first major partner with which Mercosur has struck a trade pact, offering EU firms a potential head start. The European Union is already Mercosur's biggest trade and investment partner and its second largest for goods trade. The two regions launched negotiations exactly 20 years ago and stepped up efforts to reach an accord after Donald Trump's presidential victory led the Europeans to freeze talks with the United States and seek other global trading allies. The opening to Europe also offers more avenues for development in South America, which has been tugged in recent years between the ascent of top trading partner China and enduring U.S. influence in the region. "This deal delivers a real message in support of open, fair, sustainable and rule-based trade because trade creates jobs for all concerned," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference in Japan's western city of Osaka. He was among the European leaders and Argentine President Mauricio Macri, gathered for the Group of 20 summit, who shared a podium at the event. "This deal promotes our values and supports a multilateral, rules-based system," Juncker said, adding that the commitment spoke a "lot, louder than 1,000 communiques". His remarks came as some G20 leaders signalled difficulty in efforts to draft a summit communique, with disagreements ranging from trade to climate change. The deal stands in contrast to the Trump administration's aversion to multilateralism. The EU's drift away from the United States has spurred on a free trade deal with Canada and helped to reach accords with Japan and Mexico. Now, after some 40 rounds of talks, the Europeans have reached a provisional deal with the trade bloc founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The EU and Mercosur are together responsible for 720 million people and a quarter of global gross domestic product, says the government of Brazil, whose president, Jar Bolsonaro, hailed the deal on Twitter as historic and one of the most important trade pacts of all time. If ratified, the deal will be a victory for Bolsonaro, whose right-wing politics face a chilly reception in much of the world, as well as Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who is battling for reelection this year amid a steep recession. WINE AND CHEESE In terms of tariff cuts, the trade deal could be the EU's most lucrative to date, with about 4 billion euros ($4.55 billion) of duties saved on exports, four times more than its deal with Japan. Europe has its eyes on greater access for manufactured goods, notably cars, which face tariffs of 35%. It wants its firms freed to compete for public tenders, and to sell more wine and cheese. Mercosur aims to boost exports of farm commodities. Brazil said the pact would remove import tariffs on several farm products, such as orange juice, instant coffee and fruit. It will also get a new 99,000-tonne quota of beef at a 7.5% tariff, phased in over five years, and tariff-free 180,000-tonne quotas each of sugar and poultry. "It is true that the agreement will make us compete with the best, but the agreement gives us room to maneuver," Miguel Braun, Argentina's economic policy secretary, said on Twitter. "Europe will eliminate the bulk of its barriers in five years, and Mercosur will apply a gradual tariff reduction over a period of up to 15 years, which will allow the private sector to adapt." EUROPEAN NERVES OVER BEEF, ENVIRONMENT Before it takes effect, the deal needs final approval from Mercosur, the European Parliament and constituent countries, which Brazil's government has conceded could take years. France is one of the European countries expressing concern about a surge in beef imports, while environmental groups, whose influence is stronger in the new European Parliament, say the pact could worsen deforestation. The parties both committed to adopt the Paris climate change pact and a special chapter on sustainable development will cover issues such as forest conservation and labour rights. EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said he recognised the concerns of farmers, including those from his country, Ireland, but that the bloc's free trade pacts were opening markets for EU farmers. ($1=0.8794 euro) (Additional reporting by Cassandra Garrison and Adam Jourdan in Buenos Aires, Marcelo Teixeira in Sao Paulo and Robin Emmott in Brussels; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Peter Graff and James Dalgleish)
‘Bitcoin Creator’ Craig Wright Almost Ended Up in Handcuffs: Report Craig Wrightrevealed that the private keys necessary to access a disputed $10 billionBitcoinhaul would be released next year. Wright claimed the keys were handed to a bonded courier, who was directed to deliver them in 2020. The revelations came during Wright’s deposition in the ongoing Kleiman trial, at one point during which he allegedlytheatrically broke down in tears. According to Florida court reporter, Carolina Bolado, the legal battle looks set to run for some time, as Wright wreaks havoc and confusion in the courtroom. As per live tweet updates from the Florida courtroom, the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto’s day in court was eventful, if unproductive. Between bouts of crying, throwing documents across the room, and being threatened with handcuffs, Wright made yet more startling claims. Despite being questioned on the whereabouts of the contested Bitcoin trust private keys for over a year, this is the first time Wright ever mentioned the 2020 release date. Until now, he claimed the Bitcoin holdings were practically unattainable. Wright maintained the funds were guarded by multiple stewards in a blind trust – to which he did not have access. When asked who was in possession of those 15 slices, Wright claimed to be in ownership of some himself. On the location of the others he claimed to be less sure. Read the full story on CCN.com.
SunPower (SPWR) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know SunPower (SPWR) closed at $10.69 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.42% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.28%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.48%. Heading into today, shares of the solar products and services company had gained 34.1% over the past month, outpacing the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 2.47% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.62% in that time. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from SPWR as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of -$0.04, down 300% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $445.90 million, down 0.28% from the year-ago period. SPWR's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of -$0.37 per share and revenue of $1.95 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +48.61% and +7.2%, respectively. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for SPWR. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. SPWR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 51, which puts it in the top 20% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSunPower Corporation (SPWR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Realty Income Corp. (O) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know Realty Income Corp. (O) closed the most recent trading day at $68.97, moving -0.65% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.58% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.28%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.48%. Coming into today, shares of the real estate investment trust had gained 0.29% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector gained 2.46%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.62%. O will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, O is projected to report earnings of $0.81 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 1.25%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $360.87 million, up 9.72% from the prior-year quarter. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.30 per share and revenue of $1.47 billion, which would represent changes of +3.45% and +10.38%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for O. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.09% higher. O is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Valuation is also important, so investors should note that O has a Forward P/E ratio of 21.05 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.33. Meanwhile, O's PEG ratio is currently 4.71. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. REIT and Equity Trust - Retail stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.28 based on yesterday's closing prices. The REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 158, putting it in the bottom 39% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportRealty Income Corporation (O) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Northrop Grumman (NOC) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Northrop Grumman (NOC) closed at $323.11, marking a +1.52% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.28%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.48%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the defense contractor had gained 2.73% over the past month. This has lagged the Aerospace sector's gain of 6.3% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.62% in that time. NOC will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.64, up 18.07% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $8.40 billion, up 18% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $19.41 per share and revenue of $33.91 billion. These totals would mark changes of -9% and +12.66%, respectively, from last year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for NOC. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08% higher. NOC is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Looking at its valuation, NOC is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 16.4. This valuation marks a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.4. Investors should also note that NOC has a PEG ratio of 1.28 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. NOC's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.91 as of yesterday's close. The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 49, which puts it in the top 20% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportNorthrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Mallinckrodt (MNK) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know Mallinckrodt (MNK) closed the most recent trading day at $9.18, moving +1.89% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.58% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.28%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.48%. Heading into today, shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company had lost 0.44% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 3.02% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.62% in that time. MNK will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.13, up 19.66% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $830.20 million, up 31.42% from the year-ago period. MNK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $8.24 per share and revenue of $3.24 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +2.87% and +20.86%, respectively. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MNK. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.52% lower. MNK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should also note MNK's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 1.09. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.1. Investors should also note that MNK has a PEG ratio of 0.09 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Medical - Generic Drugs stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.03 based on yesterday's closing prices. The Medical - Generic Drugs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 165, which puts it in the bottom 36% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportMallinckrodt public limited company (MNK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
North American Construction (NOA) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, North American Construction (NOA) closed at $10.80, marking a +1.12% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.28%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.48%. Coming into today, shares of the heavy construction and mining services company had lost 3.87% in the past month. In that same time, the Construction sector gained 4.32%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.62%. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from NOA as it approaches its next earnings report date. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $122.63 million, up 99.11% from the prior-year quarter. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.35 per share and revenue of $520.38 million. These totals would mark changes of +221.43% and +64.35%, respectively, from last year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for NOA. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. NOA is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now. In terms of valuation, NOA is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.91. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.87. The Building Products - Heavy Construction industry is part of the Construction sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 34, putting it in the top 14% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. To follow NOA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportNorth American Construction Group Ltd. (NOA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Honeywell (HON) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Honeywell (HON) closed at $174.59, marking a +0.43% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.28%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.48%. Heading into today, shares of the industrial conglomerate had gained 5.07% over the past month, outpacing the Conglomerates sector's gain of 4.21% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.62% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from HON as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 18, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.08, down 1.89% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $9.36 billion, down 14.28% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.10 per share and revenue of $37.17 billion, which would represent changes of +1.12% and -11.08%, respectively, from the prior year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for HON should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. HON is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors should also note HON's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 21.45. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.05, so we one might conclude that HON is trading at a premium comparatively. Meanwhile, HON's PEG ratio is currently 2.32. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. HON's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.84 as of yesterday's close. The Diversified Operations industry is part of the Conglomerates sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 73, which puts it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportHoneywell International Inc. (HON) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Crown Castle (CCI) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Crown Castle (CCI) closed at $130.35, marking a -0.09% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.28%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.48%. Heading into today, shares of the operator of wireless communications towers had gained 2.18% over the past month, lagging the Finance sector's gain of 2.46% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.62% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from CCI as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.28, down 2.29% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.43 billion, up 7.29% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.88 per share and revenue of $5.79 billion, which would represent changes of +7.3% and +6.69%, respectively, from the prior year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for CCI should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. CCI is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors should also note CCI's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 22.2. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.94, so we one might conclude that CCI is trading at a premium comparatively. Meanwhile, CCI's PEG ratio is currently 1.43. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CCI's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.88 as of yesterday's close. The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 77, which puts it in the top 31% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportCrown Castle International Corporation (CCI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Alteryx, Inc. (AYX) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know Alteryx, Inc. (AYX) closed at $109.12 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.48% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.28%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.48%. Coming into today, shares of the company had gained 22.29% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 3.51%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.62%. Investors will be hoping for strength from AYX as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, AYX is projected to report earnings of -$0.06 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 33.33%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $76.45 million, up 63.35% from the year-ago period. AYX's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $0.43 per share and revenue of $359.95 million. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +2250% and +76.18%, respectively. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for AYX. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.68% higher. AYX currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Investors should also note AYX's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 248.78. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 63.24, which means AYX is trading at a premium to the group. We can also see that AYX currently has a PEG ratio of 18.21. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Internet - Software stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.8 based on yesterday's closing prices. The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 101, which puts it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAlteryx, Inc. (AYX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Criteo S.A. (CRTO) Stock Moves 0.58%: What You Should Know Criteo S.A. (CRTO) closed the most recent trading day at $17.21, moving +0.58% from the previous trading session. This move traded in line with S&P 500. At the same time, the Dow added 0.28%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.48%. Heading into today, shares of the company had lost 9.04% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.51% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.62% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from CRTO as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, CRTO is projected to report earnings of $0.41 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 22.64%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $225.90 million, down 1.88% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.42 per share and revenue of $980.21 million, which would represent changes of -2.81% and +1.53%, respectively, from the prior year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for CRTO. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. CRTO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Investors should also note CRTO's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 7.06. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 29.8, so we one might conclude that CRTO is trading at a discount comparatively. Investors should also note that CRTO has a PEG ratio of 1.41 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. CRTO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 4.27 as of yesterday's close. The Internet - Software and Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 59, putting it in the top 24% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportCriteo S.A. (CRTO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zynga (ZNGA) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know Zynga (ZNGA) closed the most recent trading day at $6.13, moving +1.49% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.28%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.48%. Heading into today, shares of the maker of "FarmVille" and other online games had lost 3.67% over the past month, lagging the Consumer Discretionary sector's gain of 2.91% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.62% in that time. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from ZNGA as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.05, up 150% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $361.57 million, up 54.56% from the year-ago period. ZNGA's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $0.22 per share and revenue of $1.46 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +175% and +50.62%, respectively. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for ZNGA. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.5% lower. ZNGA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). In terms of valuation, ZNGA is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 27.28. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.94. It is also worth noting that ZNGA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.82. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Gaming was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.29 at yesterday's closing price. The Gaming industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 204, which puts it in the bottom 21% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportZynga Inc. (ZNGA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The Last Front-Engined Chevrolet C7 Corvette Just Sold for $2,700,000 Photo credit: Sharon Silke Carty - Car and Driver From Car and Driver The final C7 Corvette will be auctioned off in June to benefit the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. It is a 2019 Z06 painted black, and will be the last of the front-engined Corvettes. This news comes on the heels of the confirmation-finally-that the next-gen Corvette will be mid-engined . UPDATE 6/28/19: The hammer was just dropped on the last C7 Corvette at the Barrett-Jackson Northeast auction, with the final sale price a whopping $2,700,000. All proceeds are going to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The C7 that actually crossed the auction block isn't the actual car that the lucky new owner will receive, as it hasn't been built yet; the car at Barrett-Jackson is an identical Z06. Now that it has been finally, officially confirmed by Chevrolet that the upcoming C8 generation of Corvette will be mid-engined , it's time for the C7 to end its production run. The final front-engined Vette will be a 2019 Z06 model finished in black, and General Motors is selling it off at the Barrett-Jackson Northeast auction on June 28. (Since the final car hasn't actually been built yet, a regular Z06 with similar options to it is pictured; the car won't have any distinguishing visual cues.) Photo credit: Sharon Silke Carty - Car and Driver The auction will benefit the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which helps pay off mortgages for the families of first responders that were killed in the line of duty and builds "mortgage-free, accessible smart homes" for injured service members. The foundation was named after Stephen Siller, a New York City firefighter who died on September 11, 2001. Every dollar from the sale will go to the Foundation. GM has been a supporter of the Foundation for the past few years; the first production 2019 ZR1 was auctioned off to benefit it and sold for $925,000. The C7 Corvette has been a perennial favorite of ours, with different iterations of it landing on our yearly 10Best list five times since it went on sale as a 2014 model, including our 2019 list . But as good as the C7 is and has been, it has been slightly overshadowed by the imminent and much-rumored mid-engined C8, which we first saw spy photos of -and thus got confirmation of-in 2015. Since then, the C8 has been one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry, with numerous spy shots, leaks, and almost-official information coming across our desks. ( Click here for a timeline of the C8's development.) And Chevy isn't wasting any time: the next-gen Corvette will be unveiled on July 18, just a few weeks after the sale of the final C7. Story continues Photo credit: Sharon Silke Carty - Car and Driver ('You Might Also Like',) Unclogging Streets Could Help City Dwellers Save 125 Hours a Year The 10 Cheapest New Cars of 2018 Get Out Early, Get In Late: What to Know About Auto Lease Transfers
Johnny Depp's $50 Million Lawsuit Against Amber Heard Waiting on Judge's Vacation to Move Forward Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are arguing about where his lawsuit will be decided Virginia vs. California and they will probably learn the answer ... after the judge in the case goes on vacation. Lawyers for both sides were in a Virginia court today to argue over a motion to dismiss the case filed by Heard's attorneys, who believe the case does not belong in that state. Depp's attorneys have argued that because the op-ed at the heart of the defamation claim appeared in the Washington Post, and the Post is printed in Virginia, the case belongs there. After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge took the motion under advisement and said he would have an opinion "soon." When "soon" actually is could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks because the judge in the case is headed off on vacation towards the end of next week (presumably for the July 4th holiday). The judge has already set a trial date in the case February 3, 2020 and set aside 12 days on the court calendar ... so it seems likely the case will be going forward in Virginia as Depp is requesting. As The Blast first reported, Johnny Depp sued Heard for defamation over an op-ed Heard wrote last year where she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. In his lawsuit, Depp takes issue with an article Heard wrote for the Washington Post in December 2018, in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. Although Johnny Depp was not named, he claims the entire article depends on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her. He claims that Heards abuse allegations were conclusively refuted by two separate responding police officers, a litany of neutral third-party witnesses, and 87 newly obtained surveillance camera videos. Depp is suing for defamation and asking for damages in excess of $50,000,000. Story continues Heard submitted a declaration as a response to Depp's lawsuit, going into great detail in alleging multiple instances of abuse at the hands of Johnny Depp during the course of their brief marriage. In her filing, Heard claims that Depp began to abuse drugs and alcohol about a year into their relationship. She claims he frequently went in and out of "alcohol dependency medical care." She claims he "used both illegal narcotics and prescription medications." During a trip to Australia in March 2015, she claims Depp went on an ecstasy bender. Heard claims the two got into another fight and claims Depp "hit me multiple times, shoved and pushed me to the ground, choked me, and spit in my face." In a December 2015 incident, she claims Depp "threw another decanter at me, knocked items around the room, and punched a wall." She also claims he "slapped me hard, grabbed me by my hair and dragged me from a stairwell to the office to the living to the kitchen to the bedroom and then to the guest room." Heard also denies any claims that she abused Johnny and says she "never attacked Johnny other than in self-defense (and in defense of my little sister)." Depp then filed a deposition in his own words about the allegations of abuse levied against him by Heard, saying, "Ms. Heards fabricated domestic violence allegations against me are categorically and demonstrably false." Depp stated, "I have denied Ms. Heards allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016, when she walked into court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted-on bruises that witnesses and surveillance footage show she did not possess each day of the preceding week. I will continue to deny them for the rest of my life. I never abused Ms. Heard or any other woman." He says he decided to file the lawsuit "not only to clear my name and restore my reputation, but to attempt to bring clarity to the women and men whose lives have been harmed by abuse and who have been repeatedly lied to by Ms. Heard purporting to be their spokesperson."
Women's World Cup fans party in New York's Times Square as U.S. tops France By Amy Tennery and Maria Caspani June 28 (Reuters) - A throng of soccer fans, office workers and curious tourists crowded into New York's Times Square on Friday afternoon to watch a giant screen show the United States defeat France in one of the hottest matches in the history of the women's World Cup. The quarter-final game, pitting the No. 1 seeded Americans against the host of this year's World Cup, was considered the best matchup yet in a tournament that has generated unprecedented excitement and TV ratings for the women's game. The crowd that filled the square, best known for its annual New Year's Eve celebration, watched the Fox Sports broadcast on the largest TV display in the world, mounted on a skyscraper at the head of the so-called Crossroads of the World. Most of the fans in Times Square were rooting for the powerful U.S. national team, and they were not disappointed by the 2-1 final. Sitting on one of the improvised seating areas clad in a red, white and blue jersey, Alex Schnur followed the U.S. team's every move. "I am a huge soccer fan," said the 20-year-old student from Connecticut. "The talent that the women's team has displayed - everything they do both on and off the field - is what a lot of Americans want to see; it's inspiring." Cheers erupted when Megan Rapinoe, the violet-haired star of the U.S. squad, fired a shot into the goal in the first five minutes of the match, giving the Americans an early advantage over their opponent. But Sophie Jimenez, 41, a nurse from France’s Brittany region who was visiting New York with her children, was unfazed when her home country fell behind in the match broadcast from Paris. "I want to see France win! In the United States!” Jimenez chirped cheerfully. Television ratings for this year's broadcast have been strong in the United States and abroad, with a record-breaking 1.5 million supporters expected to attend the matches in France, underscoring the growing popularity of the women's game. "We want to give it absolute big-game treatment," said David Neal, executive producer of Fox Sport's FIFA World Cup broadcast. Neal said that a possible France-U.S. bout had been on his team's radar since December as a potential marquee event and that once the match was set his team decided to "pull out all the stops." Through the round of 16, ratings for this year's women's World Cup were up 21% compared with 2015 - the year of the previous women's World Cup - Fox Sports said, with France's victory over Brazil earning the highest-ever ratings for a non-U.S. women's World Cup match. "Coming into this event, we knew that the bar that we all collectively set was very high," said Neal. "It's extremely gratifying the numbers exceeding even our lofty goals." (Reporting by Maria Caspani and Amy Tennery in New York; editing by Frank McGurty and Jonathan Oatis)
What Jony Ive's Departure Means for Apple's Stock Could Jony Ive’s departure take a big bite out of Apple? Appleseemingly surprised Wall Street on Thursday with the news that its longtime chief design officer Ive is leaving the company. The news pushed Apple’s stock down about 1% in after-hours trading, and bearishly kept it down about 0.50% as of intraday trading on Friday. Ive, who has been at Apple for nearly 30 years, plans to start his own design company, LoveFrom. But the designer’s impact on Apple seemingly can’t be overstated. Dan Ives, managing director of equity research and analyst at Wedbush Securities, calls Ive “a legend who helped shape Apple’s brand to where it is today.” In a similar sentiment, Cowen analyst Krish Sankar believes the departure is “disadvantageous” for the company, he wrote in a note. Apple announced that design team leaders Evans Hankey, vice president of industrial design, and Alan Dye, vice president of human interface design, will dually take over Ive’s spot. But the lack of a new chief design officer has some analyst skeptical—Wedbush’s Ives even calls it a “pseudo-demotion for that team.” Still, Ive isn’t leaving cold turkey. According to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, Ive will continue playing an integral role in the company—just not within it. “After so many years working closely together, I’m happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I look forward to working with Jony long into the future,” Cook said in a company statement. But to Wedbush’s Ives, Ive’s departure came at an “inopportune time.” He says the exit only adds to Apple’s current concerns around China and, most recently, the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. It’s certainly not news that Apple is having trouble in China. The company reported a relatively hefty decline in sales in China during the 2018 holiday quarter—nearly $5 billion less than the previous year. And with the threat of tariffs hampering their business further, analysts say Apple may be in trouble. “From a stock look, the company has their back against the wall, not just on some near-term issues with U.S.-China and some other headwinds, but a lot of it just comes down to a more mature smartphone industry, and it’s all about innovation and services,” Ives toldFortune. While Ives claims both the news of Ive’s exit and escalating China tensions could put pressure on the stock, he believes “if we don’t get the $325 billion tariffs, then ultimately the bark was worse than the bite for Apple.” Ive’s departure signals a noticeable shift, as Cowen wrote that the company is in a “transition from being focused on hardware products to services and content.” Apple’spush to offer streaming services(perhaps to Netflix’s chagrin) and more services through itsacquisition of self-driving car start-up Drive.AIshow a clear path forward. And Wedbush’s Ives thinks the company may become more “aggressive” with M&A. He believes the acquisition of a major studio (Ives notes Sony Pictures, MGM or Lionsgate as candidates) may be in Apple’s sights. Still, apart from developing content and services in the near-term, Ive’s departure isn’t the first big loss for Apple this year. The company’s former retail chiefAngela Ahrendts left in April—and may indicate a worrying trend. “It’s a bit of a worry in the fact that Angela and Jony were viewed as potential heir apparents to Cook over the coming years,” Ives says. “With them gone, I think there’s obviously not as deep of a bench behind Cook, and I think Apple is going through a transition.” But analysts say investors shouldn’t be too concerned over Ive’s departure. For Wedbush, Apple’s loss isn’t enough to warrant a change in their price target (which currently sits at $235 per share). And others at Evercore ISI and Nomura Instinet aren’t too worried. “It’s not an overarching worry that’s going to significantly pressure the stock, but it definitely adds a little more risk into the story around innovation,” Ives said. “You can’t replace a Jony Ive —in my opinion, in the last 30 years, he’s a top 5 mind in the technology world, along with Jobs, Gates, Bezos and just a few others.” But for some, the executive’s departure should “prompt much nostalgia” for investors, and perhaps lead them to question “Apple’s ability to retain leading industrial design,” as Nomura Instinet’s Jeffrey Kvaal wrote in a note. —Slack went publicwithout an IPO. Here’s how a direct offering works —4 reasons to beskeptical about Facebook’s Libracryptocurrency —Bank of America CEO: “We want acashless society” —Fintech startupTally has raised $50 millionto automate people’s finances —Listen to our new audio briefing,Fortune500 Daily FollowFortuneon Flipboardto stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (MRKR) Does Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRKR) represent a good buying opportunity at the moment? Let’s quickly check the hedge fund interest towards the company. Hedge fund firms constantly search out bright intellectuals and highly-experienced employees and throw away millions of dollars on satellite photos and other research activities, so it is no wonder why they tend to generate millions in profits each year. It is also true that some hedge fund players fail inconceivably on some occasions, but net net their stock picks have been generating superior risk-adjusted returns on average over the years. IsMarker Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRKR)undervalued? Prominent investors are in a bullish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions increased by 2 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that mrkr isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to check out the key hedge fund action surrounding Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRKR). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 25% from the fourth quarter of 2018. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards MRKR over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's capital changing hands, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions). The largest stake in Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRKR) was held byPerceptive Advisors, which reported holding $13.2 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Baker Bros. Advisors with a $9.9 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included 683 Capital Partners, Laurion Capital Management, and Millennium Management. Consequently, specific money managers were leading the bulls' herd.Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the biggest position in Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRKR). Millennium Management had $1.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt.also initiated a $0.4 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MRKR investors: Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitaland David Harding'sWinton Capital Management. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRKR) but similarly valued. These stocks are Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTS), Graf Industrial Corp. (NYSE:GRAF), Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYRS), and Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to MRKR's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position TTS,8,19047,-2 GRAF,12,52624,0 SYRS,8,45634,-2 NDLS,17,84492,-3 Average,11.25,50449,-1.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 11.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $50 million. That figure was $37 million in MRKR's case. Noodles & Co (NASDAQ:NDLS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTS) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRKR) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately MRKR wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); MRKR investors were disappointed as the stock returned -2% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Is Koninklijke Philips NV (PHG) A Good Stock To Buy? Looking for stocks with high upside potential? Just follow the big players within the hedge fund industry. Why should you do so? Let’s take a brief look at what statistics have to say about hedge funds’ stock picking abilities to illustrate. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index returned approximately 12.1% in 2019 (through May 30th). Conversely, hedge funds’ 20 preferred S&P 500 stocks generated a return of 18.7% during the same period, with the majority of these stock picks outperforming the broader market benchmark. Coincidence? It might happen to be so, but it is unlikely. Our research covering the last 18 years indicates that hedge funds' stock picks generate superior risk-adjusted returns. That's why we believe it is wise to check hedge fund activity before you invest your time or your savings on a stock like Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG). Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG)investors should pay attention to a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late.PHGwas in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with PHG positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that PHG isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. We're going to check out the new hedge fund action surrounding Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -21% from the fourth quarter of 2018. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in PHG over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG) was held byArrowstreet Capital, which reported holding $113.7 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Two Sigma Advisors with a $12.2 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Balyasny Asset Management, Beddow Capital Management, and Renaissance Technologies. Because Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG) has witnessed falling interest from the smart money, logic holds that there lies a certain "tier" of funds that elected to cut their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. Intriguingly, Robert Pohly'sSamlyn Capitaldumped the largest position of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising about $43.1 million in stock. Ken Griffin's fund,Citadel Investment Group, also dumped its stock, about $3.8 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG) but similarly valued. These stocks are ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN), Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE:FIS), The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), and Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM). All of these stocks' market caps match PHG's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position IBN,26,744012,0 FIS,55,3479314,18 TRV,29,1262157,0 HUM,42,3053077,-4 Average,38,2134640,3.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 38 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $2135 million. That figure was $159 million in PHG's case. Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE:FIS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN) is the least popular one with only 26 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG) is even less popular than IBN. Hedge funds clearly dropped the ball on PHG as the stock delivered strong returns, though hedge funds' consensus picks still generated respectable returns. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on PHG as the stock returned 6.4% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Did Hedge Funds Drop The Ball On Telenav Inc (TNAV)? How do you pick the next stock to invest in? One way would be to spend hours of research browsing through thousands of publicly traded companies. However, an easier way is to look at the stocks that smart money investors are collectively bullish on. Hedge funds and other institutional investors usually invest large amounts of capital and have to conduct due diligence while choosing their next pick. They don't always get it right, but, on average, their stock picks historically generated strong returns after adjusting for known risk factors. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the recent hedge fund activity surrounding Telenav Inc (NASDAQ:TNAV). Telenav Inc (NASDAQ:TNAV)has seen an increase in hedge fund interest of late.TNAVwas in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with TNAV positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that tnav isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. According to most investors, hedge funds are seen as worthless, old investment vehicles of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation at present, Our experts choose to focus on the moguls of this group, around 750 funds. These hedge fund managers manage the lion's share of all hedge funds' total asset base, and by following their top stock picks, Insider Monkey has unearthed various investment strategies that have historically outpaced the market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points annually since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). Let's check out the key hedge fund action regarding Telenav Inc (NASDAQ:TNAV). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 11% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 10 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in TNAV a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an "upper tier" of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions). More specifically,Nokomis Capitalwas the largest shareholder of Telenav Inc (NASDAQ:TNAV), with a stake worth $29.1 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Nokomis Capital was Divisar Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $23.7 million. Ariel Investments, Renaissance Technologies, and Ancora Advisors were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. As aggregate interest increased, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves.Lyon Street Capital, managed by Brian C. Freckmann, assembled the most outsized position in Telenav Inc (NASDAQ:TNAV). Lyon Street Capital had $0.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle'sSpringbok Capitalalso initiated a $0 million position during the quarter. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Telenav Inc (NASDAQ:TNAV) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Ltd (NASDAQ:AOSL), Digital Turbine Inc (NASDAQ:APPS), American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC), and Solar Senior Capital Ltd (NASDAQ:SUNS). This group of stocks' market valuations match TNAV's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position AOSL,11,42571,0 APPS,15,17435,5 AMSC,16,46521,9 SUNS,2,851,1 Average,11,26845,3.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $27 million. That figure was $76 million in TNAV's case. American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Solar Senior Capital Ltd (NASDAQ:SUNS) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. Telenav Inc (NASDAQ:TNAV) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on TNAV as the stock returned 27.8% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Opko Health Inc. (OPK) The 700+ hedge funds and famous money managers tracked by Insider Monkey have already compiled and submitted their 13F filings for the first quarter, which unveil their equity positions as of March 31. We went through these filings, fixed typos and other more significant errors and identified the changes in hedge fund portfolios. Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over, so this article is set to reveal the smart money sentiment towards Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK). Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK)has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately.OPKwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with OPK positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that OPK isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio. Let's take a gander at the fresh hedge fund action surrounding Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -13% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in OPK over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) was held byCitadel Investment Group, which reported holding $5.6 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by D E Shaw with a $4.5 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Highbridge Capital Management, Millennium Management, and Marshall Wace LLP. Judging by the fact that Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) has experienced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there was a specific group of funds that decided to sell off their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementdumped the largest position of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $4.2 million in stock, and Dmitry Balyasny's Balyasny Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.4 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK). We will take a look at Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE:DIN), Sunrun Inc (NASDAQ:RUN), American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL), and Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ:VRTU). This group of stocks' market values are closest to OPK's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position DIN,20,178449,0 RUN,15,305592,-3 AXL,19,126147,-5 VRTU,10,63089,-4 Average,16,168319,-3 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 16 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $168 million. That figure was $22 million in OPK's case. DineEquity Inc (NYSE:DIN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ:VRTU) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately OPK wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); OPK investors were disappointed as the stock returned -23% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Allot Ltd. (ALLT) "The end to the U.S. Government shutdown, reports of progress on China-U.S. trade talks, and the Federal Reserve’s confirmation that it did not plan further interest rate hikes in 2019 allayed investor fears and drove U.S. markets substantially higher in the first quarter of the year. Global markets followed suit pretty much across the board delivering what some market participants described as a “V-shaped” recovery," This is how Evermore Global Value summarized the first quarter in itsinvestor letter. We pay attention to what hedge funds are doing in a particular stock before considering a potential investment because it works for us. So let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards one of the stocks hedge funds invest in. Allot Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALLT)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. At the end of this article we will also compare ALLT to other stocks including Strongbridge Biopharma plc (NASDAQ:SBBP), Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:XERS), and Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EIGR) to get a better sense of its popularity. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. [caption id="attachment_746830" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Matthew Hulsizer of PEAK6 Capital[/caption] Let's take a glance at the new hedge fund action encompassing Allot Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALLT). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in ALLT over the last 15 quarters. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,Lynrock Lakeheld the most valuable stake in Allot Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALLT), which was worth $28.7 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $14.5 million worth of shares. Moreover, P.A.W. CAPITAL PARTNERS, Rima Senvest Management, and PEAK6 Capital Management were also bullish on Allot Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALLT), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Seeing as Allot Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALLT) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there was a specific group of funds that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, George Soros'sSoros Fund Managementcut the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $19.8 million in stock, and Paul Marshall and Ian Wace's Marshall Wace LLP was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.1 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience). Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Allot Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALLT). We will take a look at Strongbridge Biopharma plc (NASDAQ:SBBP), Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:XERS), Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EIGR), and Preformed Line Products Company (NASDAQ:PLPC). All of these stocks' market caps resemble ALLT's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SBBP,15,62949,1 XERS,7,56936,4 EIGR,22,166729,1 PLPC,7,31280,2 Average,12.75,79474,2 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 12.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $79 million. That figure was $55 million in ALLT's case. Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EIGR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:XERS) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Allot Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALLT) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ALLT wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); ALLT investors were disappointed as the stock returned -11.1% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Is Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (PBH) A Good Stock To Buy? Investing in hedge funds can bring large profits, but it’s not for everybody, since hedge funds are available only for high-net-worth individuals. They generate significant returns for investors to justify their large fees and they allocate a lot of time and employ a complex analysis to determine the best stocks to invest in. A particularly interesting group of stocks that hedge funds like is the small-caps. The huge amount of capital does not allow hedge funds to invest a lot in small-caps, but our research showed that their most popular small-cap ideas are less efficiently priced and generate stronger returns than their large- and mega-cap picks and the broader market. That is why we pay special attention to the hedge fund activity in the small-cap space. IsPrestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH)a buy, sell, or hold? The smart money is getting less bullish. The number of long hedge fund bets dropped by 2 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that PBH isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.PBHwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with PBH holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to view the fresh hedge fund action surrounding Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -13% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in PBH over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's capital changing hands, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were adding to their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions). Among these funds,Fisher Asset Managementheld the most valuable stake in Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH), which was worth $38.5 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was GLG Partners which amassed $12.6 million worth of shares. Moreover, Citadel Investment Group, Arrowstreet Capital, and D E Shaw were also bullish on Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Since Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there is a sect of fund managers that elected to cut their full holdings in the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementdumped the largest stake of all the hedgies watched by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $4.2 million in stock, and Minhua Zhang's Weld Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.7 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in the third quarter. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH). These stocks are Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX), FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:FFG), AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC), and Walker & Dunlop Inc. (NYSE:WD). This group of stocks' market valuations resemble PBH's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position MATX,9,6472,-3 FFG,7,7522,1 AMC,18,121829,-3 WD,14,49593,3 Average,12,46354,-0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 12 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $46 million. That figure was $67 million in PBH's case. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:FFG) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on PBH, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 5.2% during the same time frame and outperformed the market as well. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Wipro Limited (WIT) Billionaire hedge fund managers such as David Abrams, Steve Cohen and Stan Druckenmiller can generate millions or even billions of dollars every year by pinning down high-potential small-cap stocks and pouring cash into these candidates. Small-cap stocks are overlooked by most investors, brokerage houses, and financial services hubs, while the unlimited research abilities of the big players within the hedge fund industry can easily identify the undervalued and high-potential stocks that reside the ignored corners of equity markets. There are numerous small-cap stocks that have turned out to be great winners, which is one of the main reasons the Insider Monkey team pays close attention to the hedge fund activity in relation to these stocks. Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT)was in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. WIT shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with WIT holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that WIT isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. Let's take a peek at the fresh hedge fund action surrounding Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT). At Q1's end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 10% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 7 hedge funds with a bullish position in WIT a year ago. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions). According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database, Cliff Asness'sAQR Capital Managementhas the most valuable position in Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), worth close to $31 million, amounting to less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Simon Sadler ofSegantii Capital, with a $30.4 million position; 3.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish comprise Ken Fisher'sFisher Asset Management, Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold'sLMR Partnersand Ernest Chow and Jonathan Howe'sSensato Capital Management. As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness.Weld Capital Management, managed by Minhua Zhang, initiated the most valuable position in Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT). Weld Capital Management had $0.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Tewksbury'sStevens Capital Managementalso initiated a $0.1 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new WIT position is John Overdeck and David Siegel'sTwo Sigma Advisors. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) but similarly valued. These stocks are Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET), T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW), PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR), and Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN). All of these stocks' market caps are closest to WIT's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ANET,28,714547,5 TROW,26,519659,4 PCAR,23,94730,4 WCN,26,545837,-2 Average,25.75,468693,2.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 25.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $469 million. That figure was $107 million in WIT's case. Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR) is the least popular one with only 23 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) is even less popular than PCAR. Hedge funds clearly dropped the ball on WIT as the stock delivered strong returns, though hedge funds' consensus picks still generated respectable returns. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on WIT as the stock returned 10.1% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Orchard Therapeutics plc (ORTX) Insider Monkey has processed numerous 13F filings of hedge funds and successful investors to create an extensive database of hedge fund holdings. The 13F filings show the hedge funds' and successful investors' positions as of the end of the first quarter. You can find write-ups about an individual hedge fund's trades on numerous financial news websites. However, in this article we will take a look at their collective moves and analyze what the smart money thinks of Orchard Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ORTX) based on that data. IsOrchard Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ORTX)ready to rally soon? Hedge funds are buying. The number of long hedge fund positions rose by 1 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that ORTX isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.ORTXwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with ORTX positions at the end of the previous quarter. If you'd ask most traders, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, outdated investment tools of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation today, We choose to focus on the elite of this group, around 750 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people handle bulk of the smart money's total capital, and by tracking their unrivaled equity investments, Insider Monkey has revealed many investment strategies that have historically exceeded the broader indices. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outrun the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points annually since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). Let's analyze the key hedge fund action encompassing Orchard Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ORTX). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 8% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards ORTX over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. More specifically,Deerfield Managementwas the largest shareholder of Orchard Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ORTX), with a stake worth $143.5 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Deerfield Management was RA Capital Management, which amassed a stake valued at $91.3 million. Adage Capital Management, Driehaus Capital, and Cormorant Asset Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds have jumped into Orchard Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ORTX) headfirst.Berylson Capital Partners, managed by James Thomas Berylson, created the most outsized position in Orchard Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ORTX). Berylson Capital Partners had $2.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Orchard Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ORTX). We will take a look at SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:SSRM), The Children's Place Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCE), Sirius International Insurance Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SG), and Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA). All of these stocks' market caps are similar to ORTX's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SSRM,13,106970,1 PLCE,22,254916,3 SG,1,3942,0 RUSHA,19,102027,-2 Average,13.75,116964,0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $117 million. That figure was $315 million in ORTX's case. The Children's Place Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Sirius International Insurance Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SG) is the least popular one with only 1 bullish hedge fund positions. Orchard Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ORTX) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ORTX wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); ORTX investors were disappointed as the stock returned -19.1% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Kamala Harris Smacked Down a Question on How to Pay for Progressive Agenda Sen. Kamala Harris shook up the Democratic presidential primaries with her debate performance Thursday night. She’s widely seen as the clear winner from the second night of the debates, having created a standout moment bydirectly challengingformer Vice President Joe Biden, the polling frontrunner, for his opposition in the 1970s to federal busing for school integration. She also scored points by effectively silencing a stage full of rivals talking over each other. “Hey, guys, you know what? America does not want to witness a food fight, they want to know how we are going to put food on their table,” she said, drawing applause. But another Harris response is worth a bit of attention. Early in the debate, moderator Savannah Guthrie asked her whether she thinks Democrats have a responsibility to lay out how they will pay for every proposed expansion of government benefits, such as student loan cancellation, free college and health care. Harris’s response: “Well, let me tell you something. I—I hear that question, but where was that question when the Republicans and Donald Trump passed a tax bill that—that benefits the top 1 percent and the biggest corporations in this country, contributing at least $1 trillion to the debt of America, which middle-class families will pay for one way or another? Working families need support and need to be lifted up, and frankly this economy is not working for working people. … And on day one, I will repeal that tax bill that benefits the top 1 percent and the biggest corporations of America.” Why it matters:It’s an answer — or a non-answer — that anyone following the fiscal debate since 2017 could have seen coming. Bill Hoagland of the Bipartisan Policy Centernotesthat the federal debt and deficits were never explicitly mentioned over two nights of Democratic debate. But Harris’s answer illustrates the extent to which many Democrats are now prepared to play offense on question of fiscal restraint, driven by their irritation over thehypocrisyof Republicans who, despite years of talk about the dangers of debt under President Obama, pushed through deficit-financed tax cuts as quickly as they could. Not all Democrats are taking that approach — and progressives like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren still do say that their bold new benefit programs are fully paid for, often through higher taxes on the rich (though other analysts disagree about the extent to which the new costs are covered). But Harris showed that many Democrats now stumping for their policy agenda will refuse to be swayed by deficit-shaming, whether by the GOP or the media. Progressives will applaud that shift. Fiscal hawks will decry it. Either way, it’s a sign of just how the GOP tax cuts have altered the debt debate. Like what you're reading? Sign up for ourfree newsletter.
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NGVC) Our extensive research has shown that imitating the smart money can generate significant returns for retail investors, which is why we track nearly 750 active prominent money managers and analyze their quarterly 13F filings. The stocks that are heavily bought by hedge funds historically outperformed the market, though there is no shortage of high profile failures like hedge funds' 2018 losses in Facebook and Apple. Let’s take a closer look at what the funds we track think about Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC) in this article. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC)has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment of late. Our calculations also showed that NGVC isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. [caption id="attachment_30621" align="aligncenter" width="487"] Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management[/caption] We're going to view the key hedge fund action surrounding Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -17% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 12 hedge funds with a bullish position in NGVC a year ago. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey,Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the number one position in Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC). Renaissance Technologies has a $5.1 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot isAQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, which holds a $4 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism consist of D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitaland Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Group. Because Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC) has experienced a decline in interest from the smart money, it's easy to see that there were a few hedge funds that elected to cut their full holdings heading into Q3. It's worth mentioning that Thomas E. Claugus'sGMT Capitaldumped the largest investment of all the hedgies watched by Insider Monkey, worth close to $10.9 million in stock. Richard Driehaus's fund,Driehaus Capital, also sold off its stock, about $0.6 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds heading into Q3. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC). These stocks are Century Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNTY), NACCO Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NC), Sierra Metals Inc. (NYSE:SMTS), and Ooma Inc (NYSE:OOMA). All of these stocks' market caps resemble NGVC's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CNTY,6,57293,0 NC,9,12325,3 SMTS,1,28,1 OOMA,17,71271,2 Average,8.25,35229,1.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 8.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $35 million. That figure was $17 million in NGVC's case. Ooma Inc (NYSE:OOMA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Sierra Metals Inc. (NYSE:SMTS) is the least popular one with only 1 bullish hedge fund positions. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately NGVC wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on NGVC were disappointed as the stock returned -11.7% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About FirstService Corporation (FSV) With the first-quarter round of 13F filings behind us it is time to take a look at the stocks in which some of the best money managers in the world preferred to invest or sell heading into the first quarter. One of these stocks was FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV). IsFirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV)worth your attention right now? Money managers are taking a pessimistic view. The number of long hedge fund positions retreated by 2 lately. Our calculations also showed that fsv isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to take a glance at the new hedge fund action encompassing FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV). At Q1's end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -15% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 9 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in FSV a year ago. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions). Among these funds,Renaissance Technologiesheld the most valuable stake in FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV), which was worth $82.4 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Royce & Associates which amassed $19.5 million worth of shares. Moreover, Lionstone Capital Management, Arrowstreet Capital, and Waratah Capital Advisors were also bullish on FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Judging by the fact that FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) has faced bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there lies a certain "tier" of money managers who sold off their positions entirely heading into Q3. Intriguingly, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawsaid goodbye to the largest stake of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $0.2 million in stock. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace's fund,Marshall Wace LLP, also cut its stock, about $0 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into Q3. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI), Ardagh Group S.A. (NYSE:ARD), Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU), and Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU). This group of stocks' market values are similar to FSV's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position GFI,10,208835,1 ARD,12,53581,2 CBU,8,16915,-3 BTU,27,1577543,-4 Average,14.25,464219,-1 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 14.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $464 million. That figure was $145 million in FSV's case. Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on FSV as the stock returned 10.5% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Crypto Markets Are Green Across the Board as Bitcoin Crosses $12,000 Friday, June 28 — Topcryptocurrenciesbitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and ripple (XRP) are all in the green, a total turnaround from the sea of deep red onThursday. Market visualization. Source:Coin360 Bitcoin is currently trading at $12,316 again, around the levels it sank to following the sudden $1,400flash crashon Wednesday. Bitcoin had continued tosinkall the way to $10,380 on Thursday, but is now seeing strong recovery on the day, trending up by around 14%. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 The top altcoin and second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, ether, is seeing moderate gains on the day, up 5% and trading at $308. Ether has for the most part been cruising slightly above the $300 mark since it achieved this new altitude last Friday. Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 Ripple is seeing some small gains on the day, up 1.8% at $0.415, after suffering a hard crash on Thursday from around $0.45 to $0.39. XRP 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 As far as other top cryptocurrencies are concerned, Chainlink (LINK), the 19th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is showing a massive 26% gain on the day. Coinbase Proannouncedsupport for the smart contract token just yesterday, June 27, and has just recentlyannouncedfull trading support for the LINK/ETH pair. Total market cap of the top 100 cryptocurrencies is currently $311.7 billion, according to the data on Coin360’s summarytable. Regarding the overall state of the cryptocurrency market, analysts havesuggestedthat the recent correction in the crypto market is still consistent with forecasts of a so-called parabolic bull run. Robert Sluymer, managing director and technical strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors, is quoted as telling clients: “A 20%-30% pullback would not be surprising and very consistent with bitcoin’s recent bull-market pullbacks.” Meanwhile in traditional markets, gold is trending up slightly after seeing a major crash on Wednesday and Thursday, like bitcoin, according to data provided byMarketWatch. In a recent turn of events, Steve Forbes, of Forbes Media fame, wrote an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg to back Libra with gold and instead call it “Mark.” • Bitcoin Falls Under $10,800 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend • ETH Hits 10-Month High as Crypto Markets See Solid Green • Bitcoin Breaks $9,300 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend • Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways
Is TETRA Technologies, Inc. (TTI) A Good Stock To Buy? It was a rough fourth quarter for many hedge funds, which were naturally unable to overcome the big dip in the broad market, as the S&P 500 fell by about 4.8% during 2018 and average hedge fund losing about 1%. The Russell 2000, composed of smaller companies, performed even worse, trailing the S&P by more than 6 percentage points, as investors fled less-known quantities for safe havens. Luckily hedge funds were shifting their holdings into large-cap stocks. The 20 most popular hedge fund stocks actually generated an average return of 18.7% so far in 2019 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF by 6.6 percentage points. We are done processing the latest 13f filings and in this article we will study how hedge fund sentiment towards TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) changed during the first quarter. TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI)has experienced a decrease in activity from the world's largest hedge funds recently. Our calculations also showed that TTI isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the eyes of most traders, hedge funds are seen as slow, old financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open today, Our researchers choose to focus on the bigwigs of this group, around 750 funds. These investment experts watch over the lion's share of the smart money's total capital, and by keeping an eye on their best picks, Insider Monkey has unearthed many investment strategies that have historically outpaced the market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points annually since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). Let's take a gander at the key hedge fund action surrounding TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -15% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards TTI over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) was held byPrescott Group Capital Management, which reported holding $7.5 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by D E Shaw with a $3.6 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Alyeska Investment Group, Huber Capital Management, and Renaissance Technologies. Since TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) has witnessed a decline in interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there is a sect of fund managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes in the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that David Costen Haley'sHBK Investmentssaid goodbye to the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at about $0.4 million in stock, and Cliff Asness's AQR Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.1 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in the third quarter. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI). These stocks are HF Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HFFG), Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX), eGain Corporation (NASDAQ:EGAN), and Biglari Holdings Inc (NYSE:BH). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to TTI's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position HFFG,2,1025,0 PTGX,15,103839,0 EGAN,14,46344,5 BH,9,37227,1 Average,10,47109,1.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 10 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $47 million. That figure was $15 million in TTI's case. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand HF Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HFFG) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately TTI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on TTI were disappointed as the stock returned -30.8% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About TerraForm Power Inc (TERP) Hedge Funds and other institutional investors have just completed filing their 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing their equity portfolios as of the end of March. At Insider Monkey, we follow nearly 750 active hedge funds and notable investors and by analyzing their 13F filings, we can determine the stocks that they are collectively bullish on. One of their picks is TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP), so let’s take a closer look at the sentiment that surrounds it in the current quarter. IsTerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP)a first-rate investment now? Prominent investors are in an optimistic mood. The number of bullish hedge fund bets improved by 3 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that terp isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. Let's check out the latest hedge fund action regarding TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP). At Q1's end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 38% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in TERP over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,Strategic Value Partnersheld the most valuable stake in TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP), which was worth $118.2 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $55.2 million worth of shares. Moreover, D E Shaw, Ecofin Ltd, and Arrowstreet Capital were also bullish on TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves.Ecofin Ltd, managed by Bernard Lambilliotte, assembled the most valuable position in TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP). Ecofin Ltd had $10.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitalalso initiated a $9.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TERP positions are Israel Englander'sMillennium Management, Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management, and Paul Tudor Jones'sTudor Investment Corp. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP) but similarly valued. These stocks are AmeriGas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:APU), Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT), Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (NYSE:HGV), and Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to TERP's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position APU,6,9263,2 SXT,8,65991,-7 HGV,37,763891,9 MNRO,17,270085,-1 Average,17,277308,0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 17 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $277 million. That figure was $221 million in TERP's case. Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (NYSE:HGV) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand AmeriGas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:APU) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on TERP, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 5.3% during the same time frame and outperformed the market as well. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Cambrex Corporation (CBM) Looking for stocks with high upside potential? Just follow the big players within the hedge fund industry. Why should you do so? Let’s take a brief look at what statistics have to say about hedge funds’ stock picking abilities to illustrate. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index returned approximately 12.1% in 2019 (through May 30th). Conversely, hedge funds’ 20 preferred S&P 500 stocks generated a return of 18.7% during the same period, with the majority of these stock picks outperforming the broader market benchmark. Coincidence? It might happen to be so, but it is unlikely. Our research covering the last 18 years indicates that hedge funds' stock picks generate superior risk-adjusted returns. That's why we believe it is wise to check hedge fund activity before you invest your time or your savings on a stock like Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CBM). Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CBM)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. 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 Gibraltar Industries Inc (NASDAQ:ROCK), Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:LOMA), and Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW) to gather more data points. To most shareholders, hedge funds are perceived as underperforming, old investment tools of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds trading at the moment, Our researchers hone in on the bigwigs of this club, around 750 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors oversee the lion's share of the hedge fund industry's total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their inimitable stock picks, Insider Monkey has unearthed several investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). We're going to take a look at the key hedge fund action surrounding Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CBM). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 15 hedge funds with a bullish position in CBM a year ago. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions). Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey,Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, holds the most valuable position in Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CBM). Millennium Management has a $9 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On Millennium Management's heels isRoyce & Associates, led by Chuck Royce, holding a $7 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that hold long positions consist of Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologies, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawand Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Group. Judging by the fact that Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CBM) has faced falling interest from the smart money, it's easy to see that there were a few funds that elected to cut their entire stakes last quarter. It's worth mentioning that George McCabe'sPortolan Capital Managementdumped the biggest position of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $2.5 million in stock. Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser's fund,Magnetar Capital, also dumped its stock, about $1.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience). Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CBM) but similarly valued. These stocks are Gibraltar Industries Inc (NASDAQ:ROCK), Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:LOMA), Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW), and Realogy Holdings Corp (NYSE:RLGY). This group of stocks' market values resemble CBM's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ROCK,14,96661,4 LOMA,7,17313,0 AAWW,19,126287,0 RLGY,28,441695,8 Average,17,170489,3 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 17 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $170 million. That figure was $33 million in CBM's case. Realogy Holdings Corp (NYSE:RLGY) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:LOMA) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CBM) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on CBM as the stock returned 11.8% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Exclusive interview: UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou bringing hope to homeless children in Cameroon - and eyes future heavyweight boxing fight Francis Ngannou opens up on his life in Cameroon and the hope he wants to bring to young people there - Eric Williams/Eric Williams Exclusive interview with gentle giant Francis Ngannou on his life in the UFC Octagon and the road to heavyweight boxing in the future. Ngannou will most likely step through the ropes and take up heavyweight boxing, reminiscing of the fun and delight he had witnessing Britain's 'Gypsy King' Tyson Fury from a few feet away at the MGM Grand Garden Arena two weeks ago. When Ngannou talks thoughtfully and softly in his lilting Cameroonian-French tones in English, it belies the destroyer the 6ft 5ins tall 260lbs of man-mountain becomes in a mixed martial arts fight. The physical behemoth will put his body to the task this weekend in the UFC Minneapolis headliner in what is expected to be a brutal tussle with former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. Here, in an exclusive interview with fight correspondent Gareth A Davies, the fighter explains what drives him. GAD: So, tell us about your fight with Junior Dos Santos. It seems to be a fan favourite. FN: “I’m very excited about this fight. I’ve wanted this fight for almost two years now. It’s was suppose to happen in 2017 and then something went wrong. Now, I’ve got the fight at the right time and it’s good timing for me. The fans are excited, yes. That’s why I say it’s a good match up. All of what Dos Santos has is what I’m good at. He’s a striker and a good striker, but I believe I’m a better fighter than him. It’s basically going to be in the same zone, where we are both comfortable. But I believe my power is bigger than his. But strategy comes into it and he might not want to strike, I don’t know. I’m very careful about that. I have to be careful about that.” GAD: Will there be takedowns after you hit him, then.... few of your opponents appear to want to stand and trade punches and kicks with you? FN: “He might try to strike, but he’s smart and might know the difference of our striking once I hit him.” GAD: Your childhood growing up in Cameroon was very difficult, as is well documented. You went to work aged 12 in the sand quarries, and when you left for Paris, France, you were even homeless for a time. What do you feel when you look back on those times... FN: “My childhood is not what I’m proud of it, it’s not the best memory. I think it’s sad. I don’t really like to think about it. But at the same time I owe it everything. What I am today, childhood made me into. It gave me that strength, it prepared me. If I had an easy childhood then I wouldn’t be doing this or be ready to do this. I would be studying and finding a job, having a family - what you might call an easy life. I am here because my childhood wasn’t easy. I never gave up. I always thought about my next option rather than just surviving. That’s why I keep fighting. That’s what brought me here. I don’t know if it turned out good, but it taught me a lot.” Story continues GAD: You have created a Francis Ngannou Foundation in Cameroon, which helps youngsters through combat sports in the same situation you found yourself in. Is changing lives always going to be important to you ? Are there many children still in the same conditions you grew up in ? FN: “Yes, there are still kids in that situation. I don’t think I can really change that. But the goal of the foundation is hope. What I do think is, in spite of everything I still had hope. Nobody believed in me, but I believed in me. I was blessed to have something like that. Unfortunately not a lot of people have the same outlook. So what my foundation does is give hope, because what brought me here is hope. Where I’m from, it’s just unbelievable to where I am today. Hope and belief was my strength and my weapon to fight against everything I did and to face all the challenges I have faced. I’m trying to bring that back, to believe in the impossible. Because as long as you believe in yourself, you will never give up. As long as you never give up, you will end up as something. It won’t be easy, for sure, but it’s a better life. That’s why I set up the foundation. It’s to help them believe in themselves and find a solution to their problems from within themselves. Places like that get forgotten, so you have to dig deep in yourself to find a solution. The solution is always inside.” Francis Ngannou may switch to heavyweight boxing in the future Credit: Eric Williams GAD: If we rewind to your fight with Derrick Lewis almost exactly a year ago, with just 33 strikes being landed during the three rounds. Given that yourself and Lewis are two of the most frightening, devastating destroyers in the sport, it was very surprising... FN: “I wasn’t there. I wasn’t in that fight. It happened but mentally I wasn’t there. It’s strange. I don’t know if you’ve ever had that feeling to the somewhere but not be there. I was there. I wasn’t there to fight for a win, I was there to fight against what happened in my fight with Stipe Miocic [which he lost, Miocic wrestling the life out of Ngannou]. I hadn’t finished with the fight with Stipe. I was there, but I was fighting against the weaknesses I showed against Stipe. I was five months behind the fight.” GAD: Did you have to go away and work on yourself, mentally not physically ? FN: “First of all, you put that down to experience. I’m new blood in this sport, I’m very new to it. My ride was too fast. I went so high so quickly, I didn’t have time to get my experience. I was I need of experience and that’s what happened. It drove me to the Derrick Lewis fight. What happened after that? I found stylistically what was wrong and I moved clear of it. Even psychologically, I did get some work done. I tried to figure out what was wrong in my mind. I didn’t recognise myself in that fight. It was a learning process, but it cost me a lot because I had to learn in that arena. I didn’t learn it in a sport experience, but I learned it in a championship fight. It caused a lot of drama, but it is what it is. I figured it out and moved on.” GAD: Is the UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier avoiding you ? FN: “I don’t know, I can’t say he’s avoiding me. The thing is, Daniel Cormier has announced his potential retirement and has to go through Stipe Miocic. We don’t know what will happen. We don’t know if he’ll fight again. I still want the fight against Stipe. I just focus on what can happen and what will happen will happen.” Francis Ngannou worked in sand quarries in Cameroon at the age of 12 before leaving for France Credit: Eric Williams GAD: There may well be a UFC event in Africa in the future. Would you like to headline ? FN: “I always like that idea, but it’s not up to me. I don’t have a say in that. I can push for that, but I can’t do much. It’s up the UFC. What do I do? I just focus on what I can control and let the rest happen as it will.” GAD: What did you make of Tyson Fury in Las Vegas. You were there. FN: “I always enjoy heavyweight boxing. That was my first passion. That’s what drove me to MMA. Without boxing, I wouldn't be in MMA. Tyson's the man, he’s good. I think he’s the most talented heavyweight. He’s very a technical fighter. Great work.” GAD: Will we see you in boxing in the future ? FN: “Of course. Once again, boxing my first love and it’s still my love. MMA was the sport that picked me. It had opportunity in it. I love boxing. I just want to improve my skills as a striker. Why wouldn’t I be interested in a boxing match?” GAD: Will you fight Jon Jones at heavyweight ? Surely that is a fight the UFC and the fans would love to see ? FN: “No, that’s not a fight I’m looking for. The fight I’m looking for is Junior dos Santos. I’m not looking for things that are not on the table. I don’t know why that would be exciting. It’s not something that fascinates me.” FOOTNOTE: It was announced on June 24, 2019 that MMA will officially be legalised in France in January 2020. Ngannou tweeted 'Thank you to our sport minister Roxana Maracineanu.' The Ministry of Sports in France officially launched the call for tenders to structure MMA in France within an existing sports federation. This announcement opens new prospects for the development of mixed martial arts, both at the amateur and professional levels, and will be a benefit to multiple French stakeholders. Announcing the news on Twitter, Roxana Maracineanu, France’s minister of sport, wrote:“As of January 1, 2020, #MMA will officially exist as a professional and amateur sports practice in France within the framework of defined by @Sports_gouv in harmony with the international landscape of this discipline." “UFC welcomes the announcement by the Ministry of Sports, which is the first step in officially recognizing MMA and integrating the sport into the French sports ecosystem,” said Lawrence Epstein, UFC Sr Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “We will closely follow the progress of the consultation period and pay particular attention to the respect of the integrity of MMA and preservation of its rules by the host federation. We put our global MMA expertise at the disposal of the French authorities to make this process a collective construction.”
Pelosi’s Border Deal Exposes Growing Dem Rift The Democratic party broke into what Politico described as“open warfare”late this week, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “reluctantly” agreed to allow a vote on a Senate-passed emergency border aid package. While centrists had pushed for passage of the $4.6 billion funding bill, arguing that lawmakers needed to get resources to the border as quickly as possible, progressives were outraged by what they saw as a capitulation to a Trump administration they argued can’t be trusted to properly use the money meant for humanitarian aid. The Senate legislation did not include the protections and requirements progressives had gotten added to a House version of the bill. Vice President Mike Pence reportedlypromisedPelosi that the administration would make administrative changes at the border, including a 90-day time limit on children spending time in an influx facility and a pledge that lawmakers would be notified within 24 hours after the death of a child in custody. In the end, the Senate version passed the House Thursday in a 305-102 vote, with 95 Democrats voting against the measure. The 305 votes in favor included 176 Republicans and 129 Democrats. Why it matters:In addition to its impact at the border, the internal Democratic clash could be a sign of things to come in other fights. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, reportedly warned that the turn of events on the border bill could drive his 90 members to dig in on other key bills. “The battle,” Politico said, “further illustrates the hurdles Pelosi faces in the fall as she tries to keep her caucus united while negotiating with Republicans to avoid a fiscal cliff and debt default.” Like what you're reading? Sign up for ourfree newsletter.
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup: USWNT hubris is spreading, but win over France didn't secure the title Being cocky about the United States women’s national team has become almost as popular as the national team itself. After all, the dominant storyline over the last week , in the run-up to the American women facing easily their toughest challenge yet at this Women’s World Cup, in the form of a quarterfinal with co-favorites and hosts France, was whether the team would visit the White House … … when it won the World Cup. Assuming it won the World Cup. Never mind that before winning it in 2015, the American women had needed 16 years to summit the international women’s game again. Never mind that the women’s game is coming on so quickly that there’s a plainly visible uptick in the level with every successive World Cup. The question, evidently, had been asked of the players as early as January, when the now-infamous Megan Rapinoe video (in which she emphasized her disinterest in a visit with President Trump with an instantly overblown expletive) was actually shot. And this whole time, the American women were careful to point out they would have to get through seven games first. The expectation – the assumption, really – that they would win a second straight World Cup, and a record-extending fourth overall, wasn’t so much theirs as their country’s. The hubris was a national thing. Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and the USWNT will celebrate tonight, but then the focus goes right back to the tough games still ahead. (AP) Then again, U.S. Soccer didn’t exactly downplay the expectations with its #TourDeFour social media campaign, referring to that fourth title. Neither did the team exactly dismantle that belief in its infallibility by resting almost all its regulars in only its second group-stage game. Or, in the view of many, benching its best midfielder – Lindsey Horan – once the knockout stages began. And maybe Spain was underappreciated a tad before the relative newcomers to the global stage gave the Americans a tough game in the round of 16, won only by a pair of Rapinoe penalty kicks. The same Rapinoe who drew the ire of her president. The same Rapinoe who also scored both goals against France on Friday, sending the Americans into the semifinals for the eighth time in eight World Cups with a 2-1 victory. Her team suffered in the heat and humidity against an opponent that dominated possession and momentum for much of the game, that forced the Americans to absorb endless pressure and stumble through much of the second half with a five-woman back line, that was beaten on a pair of counterattacks, that was a denied a credible penalty kick when the ball struck Kelley O’Hara’s arm in the 86th minute. But all that will be forgotten if the Americans defend their world title. Just as we’ve mostly forgotten that the Americans trudged through the 2015 World Cup, eking out results unconvincingly before catching fire in the semifinals and laying waste to Japan in the final. We’ll just stop thinking about the France game, about that match that could so easily have slipped away, had Les Bleues not run out of time. Story continues “All of us knew we had to play our roles to our best ability,” right back Crystal Dunn said after the match, “and at the end of the day, if we were to hoist the trophy, no one's going to remember how we played. We're just going to remember that we fought it out and we won the game.” The fresh assumption that the U.S. is home free, however, now that mighty France has been slayed, barely, is a reckless one. Surely, the hubris will only bloat further from here on out. But if this World Cup has taught us one thing, it’s that the margin between the long-time top-ranked team and the rest of the world has shrunk to its smallest margin ever. England awaits in the semifinal, after all. And if France’s Kadi Diani gave the American left flank fits, England’s double threat of Nikita Parris and Lucy Bronze will be that much more to handle. The Lionesses are on a torrid run through this tournament and claimed the SheBelieves Cup on American soil earlier this year, lest you forget. Alex Morgan and the USWNT didn't trip up vs. France, but England won't be a slouch either. (AP) Then, if the U.S. survives that, Germany, with all its experience and attacking talent, may well await in the final. Or it could be Sweden, which knows the Americans so well and knocked them out of the Rio Olympics in the quarterfinals with its impeccable organization. Or maybe it’s the upstart Netherlands, the European champions. Italy, possibly? But there we go again: the final. The semifinal comes first. England. The third-ranked team in the world – higher than France, by the way. The Americans aren’t across the finish line yet. The next two games might prove tougher still than the bout with the spirited French, who on many different days could have won that game outright, who perhaps should have even won it on Friday, had they been a little more diligent with their chances. Yet the nation will go on acting as if it’s all an inevitability, contemplating just how and when the World Cup should be celebrated. That’s the impossible position the American women find themselves in. That’s the heavy hubris they carry on their shoulders. Leander Schaerlaeckens is a Yahoo Sports soccer columnist and a sports communication lecturer at Marist College. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet. More from Yahoo Sports: Rose responds to LaVar Ball's cringeworthy remark Former WWE star tells harrowing depression tale Brady takes subtle shot at ESPN star's 'cliff' comment Wetzel: For the USWNT, Trump could be Motivator-in-Chief View comments
3 Top Dividend Stocks With Yields Over 4% Low interest rates and a dovish outlook from the Federal Reserve have made things tough for income investors these days. Bond yields are down, which has caused investors to turn to stocks, but that's only pushed up stock valuations and lifted the market to an all-time high. With rising prices, dividend yields have come down, and today, theS&P 500has a dividend yield of just 1.9%. Finding high-yield stocks may not be as easy as it used to be, but our contributors have got you covered. Keep reading to see why they recommendTanger Factory Outlets(NYSE: SKT),Duke Energy(NYSE: DUK), andNordstrom(NYSE: JWN). Jason Hall(Tanger Factory Outlets):Over the past three years, shares of Tanger have lost more than 60% of their value on the weakening results at some of its outlet malls, but also general fears that it -- like plenty of other mall operators -- was at serious risk from the "retail apocalypse." And while e-commerce is certainly having a pronounced effect on retail,causing thousands of stores to closeand leaving lots of mall real estate investment trusts (REITS) with empty properties, Tanger has struggled far less than Mr. Market's treatment of its stock would have you believe. While its share price has plummeted during the past three years, the company has actually increased its dividend by nearly 10%: SKTdata byYCharts. That's pushed the dividend yield up to an incredible 8.7% at recent prices. Moreover, it's a payout that can easily be sustained: Its cash payout ratio was 54.5% over the past four quarters. Tanger's management is taking action to strengthen the business. It's selling off its weakest properties and using the proceeds to improve its balance sheet, while focusing on improving ones with the best traffic and occupancy rates. Lastly, Tanger's business focus has a lot going in its favor. As much as e-commerce is growing and taking share from brick-and-mortar stores, discount outlets remain very popular and are generally operated by companies with an omnichannel strategy that ties together e-commerce and physical retail. Moreover, Tanger's focus on outdoor malls means lower operating costs and more easily filled properties when they do become vacant. Yes, there's some risk here. But my analysis leads me to believe that investors who buy Tanger with a plan to hold for the long term should enjoy both strong income from the high yield and appreciation of the stock value as Mr. Market realizesTanger's improvement plan is working. Sean Williams(Duke Energy):When looking for top-tier but incredibly safe income stocks, one of the best sectors to consider is utilities. And within utilities, Duke Energy and its 4.2% yield give investors the stability they're looking for with a 4%-plus-yielding dividend stock. Duke Energy's business model could aptly be described as "boring," but when you're after income and want to sleep well at night, that's a welcome six-letter word. Duke's electric and gas utility operations have more than 50 gigawatts of generating capacity and serve an estimated 9.3 million people across seven states. These industries are regulated, which means that Duke can't just raise rates on a whim. On the plus side, however, itscash flow is highly predictable. Being able to predict its cash flow ensures that Duke can reinvest in modernizing its existing grid, expanding its natural gas infrastructure, and adding to its renewable energy portfolio without breaking the bank or having surprises pop up along the way. Speaking of surprises, the recent decline in U.S. Treasury yields portends potentially good news on the horizon for Duke. With the Federal Reserveexpected by Wall Street to reduce ratesa couple of times in the next couple of quarters, utilities like Duke that lean heavily on debt to fund some of these aforementioned expansion projects can do so at a lower cost. Duke Energy's investment in renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar, should also be a long-term boon. Though these projects might appear costly now, solar and wind are expected to significantly drive down the company's costs and lift margins. Currently boasting 3 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity, Duke plans to invest $2.5 billion into new commercial renewable projects between 2019 and 2023, with 700 megawatts alone of solar expected to come online in Florida by 2021. Utility growth isn't jaw-dropping by any means, but Duke Energy offers a way to nab a 4.2% yield with 4% to 6% sustainable earnings-per-share growth each year. That type of stability is hard to come by in the investing world. Jeremy Bowman(Nordstrom):By almost any conventional measure, Nordstrom, the high-end department-store chain, looks like a bargain. The stock is trading at a five-year low near $32 after a proposed buyout by the founding family at $50 a share was rejected last year. On a price-to-earnings (P/E) basis, the stock is valued at less than 10 as it fell after a disappointing first-quarter report. However, the recent pullback has set up an opportunity for dividend investors, as Nordstrom's yield has surged to 4.7%. Many of the company's recent headwinds seem temporary and should lift by the end of the year. Nordstrom is set to open its flagship women's storein Manhattanlater this year, which is expected to become its busiest location, singlehandedly growing annual revenue by 2%-3%. Meanwhile, the company is also expanding itsNordstrom Localfootprint, its no-inventory, service-focused hubs, adding new locations in Manhattan, which should help boost online sales in the area. Those two moves should complement each other well as the New York market is already the company's biggest for online sales, though it has been historically underserved by physical locations. Though Nordstrom's full-line department stores have mostly seen sales decline in recent years, as much of the department-store sector has struggled, the company has built a strong e-commerce business with 31% of its sales now coming from the online channel. Nordstrom has also developed an impressive off-price division in Nordstrom Rack, making it a much more well-rounded retailer than the average department-store chain. Finally, Nordstrom has been steadily buying back stock, and its repurchase program should be able to take advantage of the recent sell-off. The company expects financial results to improve in the second half of the year as it completes a heavy investment cycle across several initiatives including Canada, Trunk Club, Nordstromrack.com, and New York. As a result, investors have an opportunistic chance to capture a near 5% yield on a stock that could easily recover its recent losses, gaining 25% or more. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Jason Hallowns shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers.Jeremy Bowmanowns shares of Nordstrom.Sean Williamshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Nordstrom and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Corporate America gets on the Pride parade, and it's appreciated, but also complicated During his childhood, Brent Miller, 42, rarely saw positive media representation of the LGBTQ community. “Everything that I saw was basically media coverage about gay men dying,” said Miller, who is gay. “Everything that I saw was negative reinforcement of what it meant to be gay.” Fast forward to this June. In celebration of the50th anniversary of the police raid of New York's Stonewall Inn, which ignited the LGBTQ rights movement. Miller, associate director of global beauty communications at Procter & Gamble, is leading Pantene’s"Don't Hate Me Because I'm BeautifuLGBTQ" ad campaignwhich hearkens back to its famous 1986 slogan. Pantene says the campaign redefines what "'beautiful' looks like in today’s world by featuring a range of people within the LGBTQ+ community and their own unique stories of transformation." The Procter & Gamble hair care brand was in good company in June as a long list of companies packaged and promoted Pride Month, which has grown into an annual celebration of LGBTQ contributions to society. Apparel brands includingAdidas,Levi'sandMichael Kors; restaurant chains likeChipotle,Just Saladsand Fresh & Co.; and tech companies such asAppleandMicrosoft— have either launched Pride-themed products, run LGBTQ-themed ads, or donated to nonprofit organizations that support the community. The outreach appears to be big business. While none of the companies USA TODAY asked provided sales or other measurements of the success of their Pride marketing, the outreach likely has benefits. LGBTQ community’s combined buying power was about $917 billion according to the most recent datafrom Witeck Communications.According toLGBTQ research firm Community Marketing & Insights, 78% of people surveyed said they tend to support companies that market and support the LGBTQ community. The messaging also attracts non-LGBTQ customers who strongly back values such as inclusivity, according toAmericus Reed, who teaches courses on consumer behavior at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Rainbow sales:18 fun and affordable ways to wear your Pride this weekend LGBTQ marketing:How retailers have turned Pride month into a sales bonanza But some members of the LGBTQ community aren't completely sold on Pride marketing. Logan Bean, 22, who lives in Washington state and identifies himself as a member of the LGBTQ community, said he is frustrated with big corporations exploiting the community and Pride month and that he views some of the marketing as opportunistic. “Many of them aren’t inclusive year round and just put rainbow products in their line and call it pride without donating a single cent to LGBTQ+ charities,” he said. And though they showed up inCalvin Klein’s pride ad, transgender actor and model Indya Mooreposted several tweets asking for more lasting support. “Celebrating Pride month is giving to queer not selling to queer. Creating products with rainbows on it for queer and trans people to buy isn't celebrating pride month,” they tweeted. “Representation shouldn't be an annual event, holiday or a marketing strategy. It Should be a normalized & regular protocol whenever it's time to hire,” they said in another tweet. Moore's point is something that brands need to consider, according to Wharton's Reed. “If you don't have the authenticity of the company, you just suddenly showing up like I'm LGBTQ-supportive, consumers might infer or draw the conclusion that you are using a marketing gimmick to try to get more sales,” said Reed. Still, the broader support and increased number of images that celebrate the LGBTQ community are having positive results, some argue. Some organizations that support the community have received a surge in the financial donations.The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ young people, got donations of more than $4 million from its corporate partners this Pride month, almost double last year, according to Muneer Panjwani, head of corporate development. Wearing Pride products conveys visible support and connection to the community, said Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer ofGLAAD, an organization that monitors media representation of LGBTQ community. It signals to “people who might not feel safe or comfortable to come out that they're not alone” he said. More trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people are featured this year in ads, compared to previous years, Ferraro said. He pointed to the commercials of clothing retailersExpress, Gap, andCalvin Klein, and department store chain Macy’s. Swedish Vodka brand Absolut, which began marketing to the community as early as 1981 running advertisements in two American magazines read by gay men, this yearfeatured a transgender child and her father in an ad. “Trans people who are rejected by families are more likely to face risks in being homelessness and having suicide attempts,” Simon de Beauregard, director of engagement at Absolut said. “We want to show unconditional love in the ad.” Showing black transgender women in commercials may be particularly helpful given the danger many are currently facing. So far this year, at least11 black transgender women have been killed, according to Human Rights Campaign. When a transgender black woman shows up in the commercials, it sends positive messages to a LGBTQ youth, GLAAD's Ferraro said, "that you can grow up and be a successful model, you can grow up and be a face of a brand and that there are brands that stand with you.” Travel:The most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the US Sarah Moeller, director of development ofGLSEN,an organization working to create LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 schools, also stressed the importance of representation. The organization this year has partnered with brands likeDisneyandHollister, which are “family-friendly” targeting children and teenagers. “We hear from young people that seeing themselves represented in that way makes a difference,” Moeller said. Follow Frances Yue on Twitter:@FrancesYue_. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Corporate America gets on the Pride parade, and it's appreciated, but also complicated
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Lannett Company, Inc. (LCI) How do you pick the next stock to invest in? One way would be to spend hours of research browsing through thousands of publicly traded companies. However, an easier way is to look at the stocks that smart money investors are collectively bullish on. Hedge funds and other institutional investors usually invest large amounts of capital and have to conduct due diligence while choosing their next pick. They don't always get it right, but, on average, their stock picks historically generated strong returns after adjusting for known risk factors. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the recent hedge fund activity surrounding Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI). Hedge fund interest inLannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI)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 iRadimed Corporation (NASDAQ:IRMD), Republic First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRBK), and Brightcove Inc (NASDAQ:BCOV) to gather more data points. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. [caption id="attachment_745225" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Noam Gottesman, GLG Partners[/caption] We're going to take a glance at the key hedge fund action encompassing Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 9 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in LCI a year ago. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey,D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, holds the biggest position in Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI). D E Shaw has a $24.5 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On D E Shaw's heels isMillennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, which holds a $5.5 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism encompass Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Group, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitaland Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partners. Because Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI) has experienced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there lies a certain "tier" of money managers that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. At the top of the heap, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawcut the largest position of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, worth about $0.4 million in stock, and Mike Vranos's Ellington was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.1 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience). Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at iRadimed Corporation (NASDAQ:IRMD), Republic First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRBK), Brightcove Inc (NASDAQ:BCOV), and Minerva Neurosciences, Inc (NASDAQ:NERV). This group of stocks' market values are closest to LCI's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position IRMD,8,14555,0 FRBK,6,5266,1 BCOV,15,113587,-1 NERV,11,34144,1 Average,10,41888,0.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 10 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $42 million. That figure was $44 million in LCI's case. Brightcove Inc (NASDAQ:BCOV) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Republic First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRBK) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:LCI) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately LCI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); LCI investors were disappointed as the stock returned -27.8% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Is Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (BHLB) A Good Stock To Buy? At Insider Monkey we track the activity of some of the best-performing hedge funds like Appaloosa Management, Baupost, and Tiger Global because we determined that some of the stocks that they are collectively bullish on can help us generate returns above the broader indices. Out of thousands of stocks that hedge funds invest in, small-caps can provide the best returns over the long term due to the fact that these companies are less efficiently priced and are usually under the radars of mass-media, analysts and dumb money. This is why we follow the smart money moves in the small-cap space. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)was in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. BHLB has experienced an increase in activity from the world's largest hedge funds recently. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with BHLB holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that BHLB isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. To the average investor there are dozens of tools stock market investors put to use to evaluate publicly traded companies. Some of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see the details here). Let's take a glance at the new hedge fund action encompassing Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 18% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 11 hedge funds with a bullish position in BHLB a year ago. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) was held byEJF Capital, which reported holding $14.2 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Renaissance Technologies with a $13.5 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Millennium Management, Prospector Partners, and Marshall Wace LLP. With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds were leading the bulls' herd.EJF Capital, managed by Emanuel J. Friedman, established the largest position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB). EJF Capital had $14.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John D. Gillespie'sProspector Partnersalso initiated a $4.7 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BHLB investors: Ravi Chopra'sAzora Capital, Paul Tudor Jones'sTudor Investment Corp, and Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) but similarly valued. These stocks are OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC), Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CWH), The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS), and US Ecology Inc. (NASDAQ:ECOL). All of these stocks' market caps are closest to BHLB's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position OCFC,13,60218,1 CWH,10,103692,-1 MCS,16,97320,5 ECOL,9,14502,-2 Average,12,68933,0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 12 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $69 million. That figure was $51 million in BHLB's case. The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand US Ecology Inc. (NASDAQ:ECOL) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on BHLB as the stock returned 13.1% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Is TTM Technologies, Inc. (TTMI) A Good Stock To Buy? Hedge funds and other investment firms that we track manage billions of dollars of their wealthy clients' money, and needless to say, they are painstakingly thorough when analyzing where to invest this money, as their own wealth also depends on it. Regardless of the various methods used by elite investors like David Tepper and David Abrams, the resources they expend are second-to-none. This is especially valuable when it comes to small-cap stocks, which is where they generate their strongest outperformance, as their resources give them a huge edge when it comes to studying these stocks compared to the average investor, which is why we intently follow their activity in the small-cap space. TTM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI)investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world's largest hedge funds recently.TTMIwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with TTMI holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that TTMI isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. Let's take a glance at the new hedge fund action encompassing TTM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -13% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 10 hedge funds with a bullish position in TTMI a year ago. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. More specifically,Point72 Asset Managementwas the largest shareholder of TTM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI), with a stake worth $18.2 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Point72 Asset Management was Royce & Associates, which amassed a stake valued at $13 million. D E Shaw, Citadel Investment Group, and Two Sigma Advisors were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Because TTM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there is a sect of fund managers who were dropping their positions entirely in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementsaid goodbye to the biggest stake of the "upper crust" of funds followed by Insider Monkey, valued at about $6.5 million in stock, and Andrew Weiss's Weiss Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $3.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds in the third quarter. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to TTM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI). We will take a look at 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD), Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:TRWH), Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD), and Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRHC). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to TTMI's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position DDD,13,62191,2 TRWH,10,311993,10 BKD,27,362928,1 TRHC,7,22718,-5 Average,14.25,189958,2 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 14.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $190 million. That figure was $43 million in TTMI's case. Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRHC) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. TTM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately TTMI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); TTMI investors were disappointed as the stock returned -16.3% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Report: Golden Knights trade Colin Miller to Sabres for picks The Vegas Golden Knights are trading defenceman Colin Miller to the Buffalo Sabres. (AP Photo/David Becker) The Vegas Golden Knights are reportedly working on a trade that will send defenceman Colin Miller to the Buffalo Sabres, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports . Terms of the deal have not been finalized by the teams but the Sabres will send a 2021 second-round pick and 2022 fifth-round selection in exchange for Miller, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports. Miller boasts one of the NHL’s hardest shots, once clocking in at 105.5 miles per hour . The veteran defenceman posted three goals and 29 points during the 2018-19 season with the Golden Knights in 65 games. Miller holds a $3.875 million cap hit for the 2019-20 season. More NHL coverage from Yahoo Sports
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About 3D Systems Corporation (DDD) Hedge Funds and other institutional investors have just completed filing their 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing their equity portfolios as of the end of March. At Insider Monkey, we follow nearly 750 active hedge funds and notable investors and by analyzing their 13F filings, we can determine the stocks that they are collectively bullish on. One of their picks is 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD), so let’s take a closer look at the sentiment that surrounds it in the current quarter. Is3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD)a bargain? Prominent investors are buying. The number of bullish hedge fund bets advanced by 2 recently. Our calculations also showed that DDD isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.DDDwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with DDD holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to view the recent hedge fund action surrounding 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 18% from the fourth quarter of 2018. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in DDD over the last 15 quarters. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawhas the biggest position in 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD), worth close to $28 million, corresponding to less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager isCoatue Management, managed by Philippe Laffont, which holds a $10.3 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other professional money managers with similar optimism consist of Chuck Royce'sRoyce & Associates, Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologiesand Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Group. With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names have jumped into 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) headfirst.Coatue Management, managed by Philippe Laffont, initiated the most outsized position in 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD). Coatue Management had $10.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Thomas E. Claugus'sGMT Capitalalso initiated a $2.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new DDD positions are Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management, Philip Hempleman'sArdsley Partners, and Joseph Mathias'sConcourse Capital Management. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD). We will take a look at Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:TRWH), Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD), Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRHC), and Presidio, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSDO). This group of stocks' market values are closest to DDD's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position TRWH,10,311993,10 BKD,27,362928,1 TRHC,7,22718,-5 PSDO,25,57575,19 Average,17.25,188804,6.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 17.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $189 million. That figure was $62 million in DDD's case. Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRHC) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately DDD wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); DDD investors were disappointed as the stock returned -22.5% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SPPI) Hedge funds run by legendary names like George Soros and David Tepper make billions of dollars a year for themselves and their super-rich accredited investors (you’ve got to have a minimum of $1 million liquid to invest in a hedge fund) by spending enormous resources on analyzing and uncovering data about small-cap stocks that the big brokerage houses don’t follow. Small caps are where they can generate significant outperformance. That's why we pay special attention to hedge fund activity in these stocks. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI)was in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. SPPI has experienced a decrease in hedge fund interest lately. There were 17 hedge funds in our database with SPPI positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that SPPI isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to check out the key hedge fund action encompassing Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -24% from the fourth quarter of 2018. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards SPPI over the last 15 quarters. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,Armistice Capitalheld the most valuable stake in Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI), which was worth $20.6 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $18.1 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Sio Capital, and Citadel Investment Group were also bullish on Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Seeing as Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI) has faced a decline in interest from the smart money, we can see that there exists a select few fund managers who sold off their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. Intriguingly, Mitchell Blutt'sConsonance Capital Managementsaid goodbye to the biggest position of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, valued at about $26 million in stock. Samuel Isaly's fund,OrbiMed Advisors, also cut its stock, about $19.8 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 4 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI). These stocks are Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI), KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF), Accelerate Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:AXDX), and Matthews International Corp (NASDAQ:MATW). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to SPPI's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position GPI,13,148023,4 KREF,9,42594,1 AXDX,11,66192,6 MATW,12,43871,0 Average,11.25,75170,2.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 11.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $75 million. That figure was $66 million in SPPI's case. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately SPPI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on SPPI were disappointed as the stock returned -21% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Emergent Biosolutions Inc (EBS) Is Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS) a good place to invest some of your money right now? We can gain invaluable insight to help us answer that question by studying the investment trends of top investors, who employ world-class Ivy League graduates, who are given immense resources and industry contacts to put their financial expertise to work. The top picks of these firms have historically outperformed the market when we account for known risk factors, making them very valuable investment ideas. IsEmergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS)a buy here? Investors who are in the know are in a pessimistic mood. The number of bullish hedge fund bets shrunk by 5 recently. Our calculations also showed that ebs isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.EBSwas in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with EBS positions at the end of the previous quarter. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Let's take a look at the fresh hedge fund action surrounding Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -31% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 15 hedge funds with a bullish position in EBS a year ago. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologieshas the most valuable position in Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS), worth close to $99.9 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Fisher ofFisher Asset Management, with a $29.8 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money that hold long positions consist of Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partners, Cliff Asness'sAQR Capital Managementand Michael Castor'sSio Capital. Because Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS) has experienced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there is a sect of hedgies who were dropping their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitalcut the biggest position of the "upper crust" of funds watched by Insider Monkey, worth close to $4.8 million in stock, and Joel Greenblatt's Gotham Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $2.5 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 5 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS). We will take a look at Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRTX), Genomic Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GHDX), Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL), and Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN). This group of stocks' market caps match EBS's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position MRTX,28,950980,1 GHDX,25,1054605,1 QDEL,18,119938,2 SUN,7,20219,0 Average,19.5,536436,1 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 19.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $536 million. That figure was $186 million in EBS's case. Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRTX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately EBS wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); EBS investors were disappointed as the stock returned -7.9% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About SemGroup Corp (SEMG) At Insider Monkey, we pore over the filings of nearly 750 top investment firms every quarter, a process we have now completed for the latest reporting period. The data we've gathered as a result gives us access to a wealth of collective knowledge based on these firms' portfolio holdings as of March 31. In this article, we will use that wealth of knowledge to determine whether or not SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG) makes for a good investment right now. SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG)has seen an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately. Our calculations also showed that SEMG isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the 21st century investor’s toolkit there are a lot of indicators shareholders use to grade publicly traded companies. A couple of the most innovative indicators are hedge fund and insider trading interest. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see the details here). We're going to view the latest hedge fund action surrounding SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 8% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 6 hedge funds with a bullish position in SEMG a year ago. With the smart money's sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions). Among these funds,Citadel Investment Groupheld the most valuable stake in SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG), which was worth $17 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $8.9 million worth of shares. Moreover, PAR Capital Management, Millennium Management, and Highland Capital Management were also bullish on SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have jumped into SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG) headfirst.D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, created the most outsized position in SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG). D E Shaw had $2.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Managementalso initiated a $0.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new SEMG positions are Andrew Weiss'sWeiss Asset Managementand Jeffrey Talpins'sElement Capital Management. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG) but similarly valued. These stocks are Tompkins Financial Corporation (NYSEAMEX:TMP), Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR), TiVo Corporation (NASDAQ:TIVO), and PBF Logistics LP (NYSE:PBFX). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to SEMG's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position TMP,5,15798,1 RDWR,17,344185,-1 TIVO,19,112652,0 PBFX,2,1814,2 Average,10.75,118612,0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $119 million. That figure was $47 million in SEMG's case. TiVo Corporation (NASDAQ:TIVO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand PBF Logistics LP (NYSE:PBFX) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately SEMG wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on SEMG were disappointed as the stock returned -15.8% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Meredith Corporation (MDP) "The global economic environment is very favorable for investors. Economies are generally strong, but not too strong. Employment levels are among the strongest for many decades. Interest rates are paused at very low levels, and the risk of significant increases in the medium term seems low. Financing for transactions is freely available to good borrowers, but not in major excess. Covenants are lighter than they were five years ago, but the extreme excesses seen in the past do not seem prevalent yet today. Despite this apparent ‘goldilocks’ market environment, we continue to worry about a world where politics are polarized almost everywhere, interest rates are low globally, and equity valuations are at their peak," are the words ofBrookfield Asset Management. Brookfield was right about politics as stocks experienced their second worst May since the 1960s due to escalation of trade disputes. We pay attention to what hedge funds are doing in a particular stock before considering a potential investment because it works for us. So let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) and see how it was affected. IsMeredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP)a great investment now? The smart money is taking a pessimistic view. The number of long hedge fund positions were trimmed by 1 recently. Our calculations also showed that mdp isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio. [caption id="attachment_758440" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Michael Price of MFP Investors[/caption] Let's review the new hedge fund action surrounding Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -8% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards MDP over the last 15 quarters. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,Royce & Associatesheld the most valuable stake in Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP), which was worth $133.3 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Ariel Investments which amassed $77.6 million worth of shares. Moreover, GAMCO Investors, Citadel Investment Group, and MFP Investors were also bullish on Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Since Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) has experienced falling interest from the smart money, it's easy to see that there exists a select few funds that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. Interestingly, Parag Vora'sHG Vora Capital Managementcut the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $13 million in stock. Jim Simons's fund,Renaissance Technologies, also dumped its stock, about $2.4 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds last quarter. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP). These stocks are First Bancorp (NYSE:FBP), Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS), QTS Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:QTS), and Advanced Disposal Services, Inc. (NYSE:ADSW). This group of stocks' market values are closest to MDP's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position FBP,18,246590,-2 CRUS,17,226684,-3 QTS,22,371693,6 ADSW,12,123110,-3 Average,17.25,242019,-0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 17.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $242 million. That figure was $295 million in MDP's case. QTS Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:QTS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Advanced Disposal Services, Inc. (NYSE:ADSW) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) is even less popular than ADSW. Hedge funds dodged a bullet by taking a bearish stance towards MDP. Our calculations showed that the top 20 most popular hedge fund stocks returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately MDP wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was very bearish); MDP investors were disappointed as the stock returned -1.7% during the same time frame and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in the second quarter. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Did Hedge Funds Drop The Ball On Cimpress NV (CMPR) ? We can judge whether Cimpress NV (NASDAQ:CMPR) is a good investment right now by following the lead of some of the best investors in the world and piggybacking their ideas. There's no better way to get these firms' immense resources and analytical capabilities working for us than to follow their lead into their best ideas. While not all of these picks will be winners, our research shows that these picks historically outperformed the market when we factor in known risk factors. IsCimpress NV (NASDAQ:CMPR)the right investment to pursue these days? Prominent investors are reducing their bets on the stock. The number of long hedge fund positions decreased by 7 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that cmpr isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.CMPRwas in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with CMPR positions at the end of the previous quarter. So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio. Let's review the latest hedge fund action regarding Cimpress NV (NASDAQ:CMPR). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -39% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 18 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in CMPR a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions). More specifically,Spruce House Investment Managementwas the largest shareholder of Cimpress NV (NASDAQ:CMPR), with a stake worth $189 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Spruce House Investment Management was Arlington Value Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $168.1 million. Bares Capital Management, D E Shaw, and Diamond Hill Capital were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Due to the fact that Cimpress NV (NASDAQ:CMPR) has faced falling interest from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there lies a certain "tier" of fund managers that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, William von Mueffling'sCantillon Capital Managementcut the largest position of all the hedgies watched by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $124.2 million in stock. Clifford A. Sosin's fund,CAS Investment Partners, also dumped its stock, about $18.9 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 7 funds last quarter. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Cimpress NV (NASDAQ:CMPR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc (NYSE:XHR), Focus Financial Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:FOCS), Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVBG), and SITE Centers Corp. (NYSE:SITC). This group of stocks' market values resemble CMPR's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position XHR,9,45662,-4 FOCS,5,179875,-3 EVBG,30,421160,8 SITC,14,64956,-1 Average,14.5,177913,0 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. 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 $178 million. That figure was $428 million in CMPR's case. Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVBG) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Focus Financial Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:FOCS) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Cimpress NV (NASDAQ:CMPR) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on CMPR as the stock returned 22.4% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Entravision Communications Corporation (EVC) Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) lagged the larger S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 9 percentage points since the end of the third quarter of 2018 as investors worried over the possible ramifications of rising interest rates and escalation of the trade war with China. The hedge funds and institutional investors we track typically invest more in smaller-cap stocks than an average investor (i.e. only 298 S&P 500 constituents were among the 500 most popular stocks among hedge funds), and we have seen data that shows those funds paring back their overall exposure. Those funds cutting positions in small-caps is one reason why volatility has increased. In the following paragraphs, we take a closer look at what hedge funds and prominent investors think of Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) and see how the stock is affected by the recent hedge fund activity. Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC)was in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. EVC has experienced a decrease in activity from the world's largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with EVC holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that EVC isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. [caption id="attachment_30621" align="aligncenter" width="487"] Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management[/caption] Let's take a look at the recent hedge fund action regarding Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -8% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 18 hedge funds with a bullish position in EVC a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions). The largest stake in Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) was held byAQR Capital Management, which reported holding $7.7 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Renaissance Technologies with a $4.5 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included D E Shaw, Two Sigma Advisors, and Millennium Management. Judging by the fact that Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there exists a select few hedgies who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. At the top of the heap, Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPcut the biggest position of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, valued at about $0.9 million in stock, and Mario Gabelli's GAMCO Investors was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $0.2 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds last quarter. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB), USD Partners LP (NYSE:USDP), Nordic American Tankers Ltd (NYSE:NAT), and Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC). All of these stocks' market caps match EVC's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position MCB,8,53783,1 USDP,4,3866,3 NAT,7,5932,1 SMBC,4,14902,2 Average,5.75,19621,1.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 5.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $20 million. That figure was $18 million in EVC's case. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand USD Partners LP (NYSE:USDP) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately EVC wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on EVC were disappointed as the stock returned -4.3% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (ARI) Hedge funds are not perfect. They have their bad picks just like everyone else. Facebook, a stock hedge funds have loved dearly, lost nearly 40% of its value at one point in 2018. Although hedge funds are not perfect, their consensus picks do deliver solid returns, however. Our data show the top 20 S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 6 percentage points so far in 2019. Because hedge funds have a lot of resources and their consensus picks do well, we pay attention to what they think. In this article, we analyze what the elite funds think of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money recently.ARIwas in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with ARI positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that ari isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. According to most traders, hedge funds are perceived as worthless, outdated investment tools of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at present, Our researchers hone in on the leaders of this group, around 750 funds. These investment experts watch over the lion's share of the smart money's total capital, and by observing their finest investments, Insider Monkey has spotted numerous investment strategies that have historically outperformed the market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points annually since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). Let's check out the latest hedge fund action encompassing Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 10% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 7 hedge funds with a bullish position in ARI a year ago. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. More specifically,Millennium Managementwas the largest shareholder of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI), with a stake worth $9.8 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Millennium Management was Millennium Management, which amassed a stake valued at $5.5 million. AQR Capital Management, Citadel Investment Group, and Renaissance Technologies were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. As one would reasonably expect, some big names have jumped into Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) headfirst.Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, assembled the biggest position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI). Balyasny Asset Management had $1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPalso made a $1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ARI positions are Brandon Haley'sHolocene Advisors, Roger Ibbotson'sZebra Capital Management, and Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Group. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) but similarly valued. These stocks are Brady Corp (NYSE:BRC), Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG), Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), and Rapid7 Inc (NASDAQ:RPD). This group of stocks' market valuations match ARI's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position BRC,15,183504,-5 HCSG,21,101611,9 MYGN,17,343687,-2 RPD,27,386668,3 Average,20,253868,1.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 20 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $254 million. That figure was $27 million in ARI's case. Rapid7 Inc (NASDAQ:RPD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Brady Corp (NYSE:BRC) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) is even less popular than BRC. Hedge funds dodged a bullet by taking a bearish stance towards ARI. Our calculations showed that the top 20 most popular hedge fund stocks returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ARI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was very bearish); ARI investors were disappointed as the stock returned 3.4% during the same time frame and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in the second quarter. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (FIBK) "Since 2006, value stocks (IVE vs IVW) have underperformed 11 of the 13 calendar years and when they beat growth, it wasn't by much. Cumulatively, through this week, it has been a 122% differential (up 52% for value vs up 174% for growth). This appears to be the longest and most severe drought for value investors since data collection began. It will go our way eventually as there are too many people paying far too much for today's darlings, both public and private. Further, the ten-year yield of 2.5% (pre-tax) isn't attractive nor is real estate. We believe the value part of the global equity market is the only place to earn solid risk adjusted returns and we believe those returns will be higher than normal," said Vilas Fund in its Q1 investor letter . We aren't sure whether value stocks outperform growth, but we follow hedge fund investor letters to understand where the markets and stocks might be going. This article will lay out and discuss the hedge fund and institutional investor sentiment towards First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ: FIBK ). Is First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ: FIBK ) a buy, sell, or hold? The best stock pickers are becoming less confident. The number of long hedge fund positions retreated by 2 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that fibk isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds . FIBK was in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with FIBK holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 ( see the details here ). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. Story continues Dmitry Balyasny Let's take a look at the new hedge fund action surrounding First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ: FIBK ). How are hedge funds trading First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK)? Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -15% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards FIBK over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. No of Hedge Funds with FIBK Positions Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Israel Englander's Millennium Management has the number one position in First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK), worth close to $29.1 million, amounting to less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Citadel Investment Group , led by Ken Griffin, holding a $25.8 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism include Jim Simons's Renaissance Technologies , Anton Schutz's Mendon Capital Advisors and Dmitry Balyasny's Balyasny Asset Management . Seeing as First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK) has faced declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there were a few fund managers that decided to sell off their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that Minhua Zhang's Weld Capital Management dumped the largest position of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling close to $0.5 million in stock, and David Costen Haley's HBK Investments was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.3 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK) but similarly valued. These stocks are Cadence Bancorporation (NYSE: CADE ), Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG ), ABM Industries, Inc. (NYSE: ABM ), and The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN ). This group of stocks' market valuations match FIBK's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CADE,22,145431,4 VG,34,259024,12 ABM,8,22434,-4 HAIN,13,492321,-8 Average,19.25,229803,1 [/table] View table here if you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 19.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $230 million. That figure was $94 million in FIBK's case. Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG ) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand ABM Industries, Inc. (NYSE: ABM ) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK) 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. Our calculations showed that top 20 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately FIBK wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); FIBK investors were disappointed as the stock returned -0.9% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out the top 20 most popular stocks among hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey . Related Content How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Is Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC) A Good Stock To Buy? At Insider Monkey we track the activity of some of the best-performing hedge funds like Appaloosa Management, Baupost, and Tiger Global because we determined that some of the stocks that they are collectively bullish on can help us generate returns above the broader indices. Out of thousands of stocks that hedge funds invest in, small-caps can provide the best returns over the long term due to the fact that these companies are less efficiently priced and are usually under the radars of mass-media, analysts and dumb money. This is why we follow the smart money moves in the small-cap space. Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 11 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. 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 Baozun Inc (NASDAQ:BZUN), EVO Payments, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVOP), and Mednax Inc. (NYSE:MD) to gather more data points. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. [caption id="attachment_746830" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Matthew Hulsizer of PEAK6 Capital[/caption] Let's go over the recent hedge fund action surrounding Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 0% from the fourth quarter of 2018. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in PSEC over the last 15 quarters. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) was held byArrowstreet Capital, which reported holding $6.7 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by McKinley Capital Management with a $5.5 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Citadel Investment Group, Two Sigma Advisors, and PEAK6 Capital Management. Because Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) has experienced a decline in interest from the smart money, it's safe to say that there were a few funds who were dropping their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. Intriguingly, Michael Hintze'sCQS Cayman LPdumped the biggest stake of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $3.1 million in stock, and Howard Marks's Oaktree Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $2.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience). Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Baozun Inc (NASDAQ:BZUN), EVO Payments, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVOP), Mednax Inc. (NYSE:MD), and Inter Parfums, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPAR). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to PSEC's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position BZUN,14,60742,0 EVOP,13,61327,3 MD,23,298044,-2 IPAR,22,98080,11 Average,18,129548,3 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 18 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $130 million. That figure was $17 million in PSEC's case. Mednax Inc. (NYSE:MD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand EVO Payments, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVOP) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) is even less popular than EVOP. Hedge funds dodged a bullet by taking a bearish stance towards PSEC. Our calculations showed that the top 20 most popular hedge fund stocks returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately PSEC wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was very bearish); PSEC investors were disappointed as the stock returned 2.1% during the same time frame and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in the second quarter. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Did Joe Biden Get Mitch McConnell to Raise Taxes by $600 Billion? Touting his ability to get things done by working with lawmakers from across the aisle, Joe Biden claimed during the Democratic debate Thursday that when he was vice president, he convinced a key Senate Republican to agree to a substantial tax increase. “We needed to be able to keep the government from shutting down and going bankrupt. I got Mitch McConnell to raise taxes $600 billion by raising the top rate,” Biden said, referring to the 2012 “fiscal cliff” negotiations, which revolved around the looming expiration of the Bush tax cuts and a temporary payroll tax cut, as well as an extension of unemployment benefits. Biden’s claim was quickly challenged on the debate stage by Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who said that the deal Biden made with McConnell did significant damage to the country’s fiscal condition: “[T]he deal that he talked about with Mitch McConnell was a complete victory for the Tea Party. It extended the Bush tax cuts permanently. The Democratic Party had been running against that for 10 years. We’ve lost that economic argument because that deal extended almost all those Bush tax cuts permanently and put in place the mindless cuts that we still are dealing with today that are called the sequester. That was a great deal for Mitch McConnell.” The back-and-forth on the issue highlights a loud and growing complaint from Biden’s left, namely that his long history of working with the opposition party involves more than a few instances of giving away the store in pursuit of bipartisanship. But Bennet’s criticism didn’t address the basic question of the accuracy of Biden’s claim: Did he get McConnell to “raise taxes $600 billion”? Vox’s Matthew Yglesias dug into the details of the fiscal cliff negotiations, andconcludedthat Biden’s claim was off the mark: “That would be quite the achievement, but it’s not what happened. What Biden got, instead, was an agreement for McConnell to support a partial extension of the Bush tax cuts except for tax cuts that would apply only to families that earned more than $450,000 a year. "This did, it’s true, raise $600 billion in revenue relative to a baseline in which the tax cuts were fully extended. Except there was no universe in which that was going to happen. Republicans had just lost the election. The deal obviously lost a ton of revenue relative to a scenario in which the tax cuts simply expired. And it lost considerable revenue relative to scenario in which Democrats got their way and set the cut point at $250,000.” So Biden did make an agreement with McConnell that produced an estimated $600 billion in revenue, but only compared to a demand from Republicans that was unlikely to become reality. Framing it as a tax increase neglects the larger context of the Bush tax cuts, Yglesias says, while claiming it as a victory for bipartisanship puts a shine on what, from the perspective of some other Democrats, was simply a bad deal. Like what you're reading? Sign up for ourfree newsletter.
NeNe Leakes Makes Her 'RHOA' Return Official NeNe Leakes is set to return to the Real Housewives of Atlanta. The 51-year-old reality star shared the news on Instagram on Friday, however, she may have let the cat out of the bag too early, as her post has since been deleted. Of course, fans were quick to screenshot and repost the announcement, in which Leakes shared a photo of a signed contract and wrote, “Season 12 SIGNED! Nay Nay will see you in NYC Sunday! Let’s go #RHOA.” The news comes after Leakes denied reports that she was being shut out of the popular Bravo series earlier this month. As well as facing drama surrounding former cast member Kenya Moore in the show’s season 11 finale, Leakes was also filmed getting into an altercation with a crew member, whose shirt she ripped off. The season was further challenging for Neakes since she was also dealing with her husband, Gregg’s, battle with cancer . View this post on Instagram Looks Like The Queen Of RHOA Nene Leakes Has Secured The 🍑 The OG WILL Be Returning.. Chile Suspended Where.. BLOOOOOP 💫 ___ #RealityTV #RealityTVFights #PopCulture #RealHousewivesOfAtlanta #RHOP #MarriedToMedicine #AndyCohen #KandiBurruss #PorshaWilliams #CynthiaBailey #Hotlanta #GreggLeakes #QueenRadio #EvaMarcille #MarloHampton #SwaggBoutique #TajTV #OfficialTajTV A post shared by TajTV (TeaTimeWithTaj) (@officialtajtv) on Jun 28, 2019 at 10:51am PDT Gossip site LoveBScott then claimed she was being forced to “sit out” filming the first half of season 12, which commenced shooting at the beginning of June. However, Leakes’ rep denied the report to ET shortly afterward. "I can say with authority that there is absolutely no truth to this,” her rep said. “The only reason why she's not currently shooting is because she is still in active negotiations with her contract." See more RHOA below. RELATED CONTENT: NeNe Leakes’ Team Shuts Down Reports She’s Being Shut Out of ‘RHOA’ Season 12 NeNe Leakes Reveals That Husband Gregg Is Currently Cancer Free: 'Look at God!' NeNe Leakes Offers Updates on Marriage and Husband's Health, But Avoids 'RHOA' Talk (Exclusive) Related Articles: Hollywood Bikini Bods Over 40 Biggest Celebrity Breakups of 2019 -- So Far! Celebrities in Their Underwear View comments
Don't Bug Out—the Market for Edible Insects Is Jumping Alternative “meats”andproteinshave been all the rage for the last while. What’s jumping in line to be the next big protein thing? A report released earlier this week sayscricketsand other insects are going to have their moment. By 2030, the global industry for edible insects, sold whole or in a smoothie-ready powder, will grow from sales of $1 billion to $8 billion, according to a report from Barclays andMeticulous Research. “Edible insects are a common snack in many countries like Mexico, China, and Thailand, [where they’ve been] sold in markets and served in restaurants for years,” a Meticulous Research spokesperson toldFortune.“North America and Europe have remained the exceptions until recently. Though Insects are being championed as a healthy and sustainable alternative to conventional protein sources in Europe and the U.S., the ‘yuck factor’ is still one of the main stumbling blocks.” According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, there are2 billion people around the world who already consume protein from up to 1,900 species of insects. Even though North America pales in comparison to Asia’s insect consumption rate, the spokesperson said, it’s slated to have the fastest growth over the next four to five years, at more than a 25% compound annual growth rates. That growth will come primarily from increased exposure to the sector, new companies and outside investments, and a growing demand for more environmentally-friendly high-protein sources that require less land, feed, and greenhouse emissions than beef and poultry production takes. “How can we feed people in a way that’s nutritious and also climate smart?” asked Wendy Lu McGill, owner of Denver-based insect farm Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch. “How can we do it in a way that doesn’t need a lot of land and water?” McGill, started her insect farm in 2015 after working in international agriculture development. Her operation is Colorado’s first and only edible insect farm that caters exclusively to consumption by humans. She houses crickets and more than a million mealworms out of a 40 square foot shipping container—”and we aren’t even using all the space yet.” But McGill is already planning for the future by moving to a larger facility next month. In the midst of themeatless-meat boom, it might be tempting to compare the potential trajectory of edible insects’ to that of other alternative proteins like those from plant-based Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat.Beyond Meat had a $3.8 billion market valuation after filing its IPO. But a better comparison could be to sushi. “It’s probably really closest to seafood in terms of its usage—it doesn’t have a lot of muscle mass like animals we eat,” said McGill. “Some of our consumer acceptance studies show that more people are willing to eat insects if it is a luxury food or if it’s related to sushi.” But when McGill likens edible insects to sushi, she isn’t only talking about incorporating bugs into the Japanese delicacy—which New Haven, Conn,-based Miya’s Sushi has been doing since 2015. “Until relatively recently, the idea of trying sushi—let alone having it become a mainstream menu item—was often thought of with disgust in many societies,” Dr. Matthew Ruby, a psychology lecturer at Australia’s La Trobe UniversitytoldScience Daily. Ruby co-authored a study that found that people who regularly eat sushi are more likely to incorporate edible bugs into their diets. “Just like eating sushi, eating insects will take some getting used to,” he said. “It appears the more open you are to ‘exotic’ foods, the more willing you’ll be to taste-test a grasshopper, or an ant, or even a spider.” Both investors and larger scale food producers are keeping a keen eye on the growing market. “For example, in February 2019, Ÿnsect, the French insect farming startup, raised $125 million in Series C funding in the largest early-stage ag-tech funding deal on record in Europe,” a Meticulous Research spokesperson toldFortunevia email. “This takes the company’s total fundraising to over $160 million since it was founded in 2011. Moreover, in April, 2018,Entomo Farmsraised Series A Funding fromMaple Leaf Foodsfor expansion of cricket farm.” Another sign of growth, McGill said, is the introduction ofnew insect-based ground meat replacements in Europeas well as the incorporation of products inmainstream North American supermarkets. However, she added, “I do believe the jury is still out if this is really going to stick and if we can take a larger place in mainstream food.” But if the expected popularity trajectory of edible insects around the world comes to pass, get ready to witness mealworm munching at high-end restaurants and in grocery store sample sections. —Michaels offers lessons in theperils of being a tech laggard —It’s all clicking for Wayfair, aFortune500 newcomer —Sears’seven decades of self-destruction —HowDollar General brings in billionseach year —Listen to our new audio briefing,Fortune500 Daily FollowFortuneon Flipboardto stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.
The Latest: Trump, China's Xi to talk trade at G-20 summit OSAKA, Japan (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump's trip to Asia (all times local): 7 a.m. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping are meeting Saturday in Osaka, Japan, as the trade war between two economic titans faces a critical junction. Both the U.S. and China are signaling a desire to de-escalate the year-long conflict, yet seem unwilling to compromise. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the international Group of 20 summit. Trump is also meeting Saturday with Saudi Arabia's Mohammad Bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. __ 11:41 p.m. Democrats are criticizing an off-handed comment President Donald Trump made about election meddling during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Japan. After a reporter asked Trump if he was going to warn Russia not to meddle in the U.S. election, Trump turned to Putin and jokingly said: "Don't meddle in the election." The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, says the joke is on America and Putin is the only one laughing. Schumer says Trump is giving Russia a green light to interfere again in 2020. ___ 9:30 p.m. The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin has invited President Donald Trump to visit Russia next year. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that the Russian leader wants Trump to attend festivities marking the 75th anniversary of the World War II victory. Peskov says Trump reacted "positively" to the invitation at the two leaders' meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 nations' summit in Osaka. Peskov says a formal invitation would be sent shortly. The Kremlin spokesman says that during their meeting, Trump and Putin discussed ways to improve economic times, arms control, China, Syria and Turkey. ___ 7 p.m. President Donald Trump is joking with Russian President Vladimir Putin about interfering in U.S. elections. After a reporter at an international summit in Japan asked Trump if he was going to warn Russia not to meddle in the U.S. election, Trump turned to Putin and jokingly said: "Don't meddle in the election." Story continues The off-handed comment came during the two leaders' first meeting since special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Russia extensively interfered with the 2016 campaign. ___ 4:00 p.m. President Donald Trump has promised Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro that he will visit the South American country. Trump said Friday that Brazil has many of the world's assets and he looks forward to the trip. He didn't say when it would be. Bolsonaro, dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics" after he emulated Trump to win election last year, told Trump he supports his re-election. The leaders met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Trump answered several questions about his meeting Saturday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said he thinks it will be productive. The U.S. and China are locked in a trade war. Trump says he hasn't promised to hold off on new tariffs on Chinese goods. ___ 3:00 p.m. White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump will speak about women's economic empowerment at a special event during the Group of 20 summit in Japan. The White House says President Donald Trump's daughter plans to speak Saturday at an event being held a summit session on women's participation in the workforce. She was invited by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, host of the summit in Osaka, and will appear with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, with whom she has worked closely on the issue. President Trump is also expected to attend. Ivanka Trump will discuss how the Trump administrations recently launched initiative on Women's Global Development and Prosperity will marshal government and private support to empower women economically around the world. ___ 2:15 p.m. President Donald Trump says he'll discuss trade and disarmament issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two are meeting Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. It's their first meeting since a federal investigation in the United States documented extensive evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It's also their first time face-to-face since a Helsinki summit last July in which Trump refused to side with U.S. intelligence agencies over his Russian counterpart. Putin has denied meddling in the election. Trump jokingly said to Putin: "Don't meddle in the election," after a reporter asked if he will deliver that warning to Putin about the 2020 U.S. election. ___ 11:00 a. m. President Donald Trump says German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a "fantastic person" and he's "glad to have her as a friend." Trump commented Friday as he and Merkel met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Japan. Merkel said last year that she won't seek a fifth term as chancellor and Trump has complained outside of her presence that Germany is taking advantage of the U.S. on support for NATO. The president says he and Merkel "have many things to talk about" but he didn't indicate whether he'd raise the NATO issue. Merkel said she wants to discuss Iran, counterterrorism and West Africa. ___ 10 a.m. President Donald Trump says he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have become "great friends" and the two countries "have never been closer." The two heads of state met Friday in Osaka, Japan, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit. The president has complained about trade with India and says it will be among the issues they discuss. Modi said he wants to discuss Iran, 5G communications networks, bilateral relations and defense relations. The prime minister also thanked Trump for expressing his "love toward India" in a letter recently delivered by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Trump and Modi met separately following a three-way meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. ___ 9:45 a.m. President Donald Trump is meeting jointly with the leaders of India and Japan. The three leaders did a group fist bump as they posed for a photo Friday's meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Trump says it's a "great honor" to be at the meeting and congratulated Modi on his recent re-election. Despite his recent complaints about India and Japan, Trump forecast a "positive" discussion with his counterparts. Abe says India, the U.S., and Japan are the "foundation of the peace and prosperity in the region." Modi says their countries support democracy. ___ 7:45 p.m. President Donald Trump is opening his participation in the Group of 20 summit by meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the summit host. Trump recalled Friday that he'd been in Japan last month, joking that "we just left Japan and now I'm back." He recalled presenting an award to the winner of a sumo wrestling champion during the May visit and claimed "everybody's talking about it all over the world." Trump says he and Abe will discuss trade, military and other issues during their meeting on the sidelines of the summit, which is being held in Osaka, Japan. __ 4:30 p.m. President Donald Trump is under pressure to take a firm stand against election interference Friday when he holds his first meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin since the special counsel found extensive evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. U.S. officials are on high alert for more interference next year. Trump said in advance he expected a "very good conversation" with Putin but told reporters that "what I say to him is none of your business." His aides have grown worried that Trump could use the meeting to once again attack Robert Mueller's probe on the world stage, particularly since the special counsel now has a date to testify before Congress next month.
Soccer Star Megan Rapinoe Is Fearless in the Face of Franceand Trump. It's Her World Cup Now Megan Rapinoes shot , a free kick on the left wing right outside the goal box somehow lasered past the entire American and French teams, it seemed. A bunch of players tried to alter the balls direction. They all failed. American Julie Ertz hurled her leg toward it, to deflect it into the goal. She swung and missed; Rapinoe put too much heat on it. French star Amandine Henry nudged at it. Too late. When the ball reached the back of the net, giving the Americans a 1-0 lead over host France barely five minutes into this Womens 2019 World Cup quarterfinal match, you may have wondered whod get credit for the score. Someone touched, it right? Was it an own goal? Nope. It was another Rapinoe rocket; all Megan, again. Has any World Cup belonged to a single player, like this current one belongs to Rapinoe? Sure, Carli Lloyd scored a hat trick in the final back in 2015. But she wasnt a leading voice in her teams battle for equal pay , nor drawing the ire of her countrys President, while leading the Americans to a title. United States' forward Megan Rapinoe (unseen) scores her team's first goal the France 2019 Women's World Cup quarter-final football match between France and United States, on June 28, 2019, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. \| FRANCK FIFEAFP/Getty Images Rapinoe has scored all four of Americas goals in the knockout round. She converted two penalty kicks in the American teams 2-1 Round-of-16 victory over Spain. And after her early score against France, she took a cross from Tobin Heath in the 65th minute that appeared targeted for Samantha Mewis, but would up on her right foot . Lucky break: Rapinoe fired another one into the net, giving the U.S. a 2-0 lead. The Americans would need this insurance: Wendi Renard scored for France on a header in the 81st minute, but the U.S. held off Frances attack in the games final minutes to advance to the semifinals, on July 2 against England. Read more: You Have to Take a Stand. Soccer Phenom Alex Morgan Wants the Respectand MoneyFemale Players Deserve A viral video , shot earlier this year by soccer magazine Eight by Eight, made the rounds this week; the clip shows Rapinoe saying Im not going to the fking White House, in response to a question about whether shed be excited about visiting President Donald Trump if he extended an invitation to the team after the tournament. The Tweet caught Trumps attention , and he fired back with a series of Tweets that originally misspelled Rapinoes last name (he forgot the e ). Trump wrote that Rapinoe should WIN first before she TALKS!, and then invited team to the White House win or lose. Rapinoe has continued to back Colin Kaepernicks protests against social injustices during the national anthem: she stands motionless during the anthem. Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties, Rapinoe said in 2016. Story continues Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team, Trump wrote. Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT! With the political storm swarming around her, Rapinoe one of the more self-assured athletes sports stars out there remained resolute at a press conference on Thursday. She just expressed regret at her curse word. I stand by the comments I made about not wanting to go to the White House with the exception of the expletive, she said. My mom would be very upset about that. Rapinoe laughed. Hopefully [we are] using [that platform] for good and leaving the game in a better place and hopefully the world in a better place, she said . I dont think I would want to go. And I would encourage my teammates to think hard about lending that platform or having it co-opted by an administration that does not feel the same way and fight for the same things that we fight for. Her boldness was on ever fuller display on Friday night in Paris, when she scored two crucial goals in a high-stakes quarterfinal against the home team. Rapinoe turned in an all-time performance on the international stage. France had set its sights on winning its first Womens World Cup, after its menss team took home the trophy at the mens event in Russia last summer. Rapinoe ended that dream, almost singlehandedly. After each goal, she spread her arms out, royalty shrouded in defiance. She showed that athletes can simultaneously use their platforms to exercise free expression, and excel on the field. You can refuse to stick to sports, and still be pretty darn good at them.
Oregon's GOP senators say they'll return after 9-day walkout SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Republicans in the Oregon Senate said Friday that they will end a more than weeklong walkout over emissions-lowering climate legislation that ground the Legislature to a halt, declaring victory in the political crisis that exposed the limits of overwhelming Democratic control in Oregon. The 11 Republicans fled the state for nine days to deny Democrats the numbers needed to vote on a proposal that would be the second in the nation to cap and trade pollution credits among companies. The legislation exposed lingering tensions between liberal cities like Portland that want to combat climate change and rural areas where people fear further erosion to industries like farming, logging and trucking. Senate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger told reporters that Republicans will return Saturday to vote on dozens of budget and policy bills before the legislative session ends at midnight Sunday. The Democratic governor had sent state police to try to round up Republicans, who also face $500-a-day fines. "Our mission in walking out was to kill cap-and-trade," Baertschiger said. "And that's what we did." As the political crisis dragged on, Democrats said they didn't have enough votes even within their own caucus to pass the proposal targeting climate-changing emissions. Baertschiger said he received assurances from the Democratic Senate president and Gov. Kate Brown that the climate bill won't move forward this session. "When the views of the minority are not respected, this country has a lot of history of pushing back, and I think that's exactly what we've seen here," Baertschiger said. Republicans were able to exert their force in a state where Democrats have supermajorities in the House and Senate and hold the governorship. It was the second time this year GOP lawmakers have used a walkout to slow legislation they opposed. They walked out of the Senate last month to block a school funding tax package. The standoff lasted four days until the governor struck a deal to table legislation on gun control and vaccine requirements. "This is not how our democracy is supposed to work," said Tara Hurst, executive director of the lobbying group Renew Oregon, which helped craft the climate proposal. "Continuing to capitulate to demands of a small minority, which has taken our Legislature hostage, will only lead to more of the same because there are no consequences." Democrats had said the climate legislation was critical to make Oregon a leader in the fight against climate change and will ultimately create jobs and transform the economy. They made dozens of concessions to respond to concerns from conservatives and industry leaders, but they didn't go as far as Republicans hoped. The walkout spiraled out of control after the Senate president ordered the Capitol closed last weekend because of a "possible militia threat" from far-right groups during a protest. One of those groups, the Oregon Three Percenters, joined an armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016 and offered safe passage to senators on the run. But the threat never materialized. Baertschiger didn't explicitly speak out against it but said he "condemns any type of violence." He did not denounce the comments of Republican Sen. Brian Boquist, who was heavily criticized after warning police that they should "come heavily armed" when they tried to bring him back to the Capitol. Baertschiger said he's confident the Senate can work through dozens of measures before the legislative session ends. Democrats still want to push through huge priorities, including what would be the nation's most generous paid family leave program and money to expand affordable housing. Democrats have an 18 to 12 majority in the Senate but need at least 20 members — and therefore at least two Republicans — to vote on legislation. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, who chairs the committee in charge of funding decisions, told reporters that she trusted Baertschiger when he said the walkout was only over the climate bill. It aimed to dramatically reduce greenhouse gases by 2050 by capping carbon emissions and requiring businesses to buy or trade for an ever-dwindling pool of pollution "allowances." California has a similar program. She said she felt "relief" that Republicans agreed to return to get through the rest of the legislative agenda, including added funding for critical services like child welfare and public safety. Steiner Hayward said Democrats "want to continue to work on" addressing climate change and that the plan will likely come up again in the future. "Nobody's giving up," she said.
The Different Types of Mutual Fund Classes Mutual fundscan simplify thediversificationof your portfolio. Mutual fund share classes will determine just how much that diversification will cost. While mutual funds will let you invest in a collection of stocks and bonds through index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETF), mutual fund share classes may determine which fit your budget best. Mutual Fund Share Classes Defined Mutual fund share classesdo not affects the investments a mutual fund holds or fund’s objectives. They simply indicate the different fees and costs associated with each class. Those charges can have a direct effect on an investor’s returns. Why have different mutual fund share classes? It all depends on when investors want to pay their fees. If they want to pay them up front and hang on to shares long-term, that’s an option. If they want to hold shares for maybe 5 years and pay a back-end fee that decreases each year, that’s another option. If you want to keep shares short-term and pay a percentage fee for a year or so, you can. The best option may be whichever is most cost-efficient for you. Types of Mutual Fund Share Classes There are four main types of mutual fund classes: Class A Shares These shares typically require investors to pay a front-end fee at the time you purchase your shares. This fee often ranges from 3% to 5%, although it can be higher, depending on the fund. Class A shares may also require other fees. The12b-1 fee. for example, is built into the fund’sexpense ratio. That ratio is the percentage of assets that make up the total cost of owning the fund. Class A tend to have a lower 12b-1 fee than other fund classes. Class B Shares Unlike Class A shares, Class B shares charge a load or sales fee at the back end, when shares are sold. The longer you hold your shares, the lower this fee is. After a certain period, that fee can drop to zero. As with Class A shares, you’ll also be charged a 12b-1 fee to own Class B shares. That fee, however, will be higher than that of Class B shares. These shares also charge an expense ratio higher than Class B shares, but they convert to Class A shares after a certain time. That makes Class B shares less expensive to hold in a portfolio for the long term, but lower-fee ETFs are starting to put pressure on this class of shares. Class C Shares Class C shares have neither an upfront fee nor a back end fee. Instead, they charge a level annual fee around around 1%. Combined with the 12b-1 fee and the expense ratio, that level fee makes Class C shares a potentially costly long-term investment. They also don’t convert to less-expensive shares. Class D Shares Class D mutual funds, or “no-load funds,” have no fee to buy them and no fee to sell them. There isn’t a level percentage fee either. You pay only the 12b-1 fee and the annual expense ratio. That makes Class D shares far more affordable than the aforementioned classes for both for short- and long-term investment. What About Other No-Load Fund Shares? There are other ways to avoid load fees, but investors may need help finding them. Mutual funds with Class Adv shares are only accessible through investment advisors. There’s no up-front or back-end load fee, and you don’t have to pay an annual level fee. However, the 12b-1 fees can be up to 0.50%. Your 401(k) may come with no-load mutual fund shares known as Class R shares. They don’t have load fees, but their 12b-1 fees range from 0.25% to 0.5%. What About Class I Shares? Inst funds, also known as Class I shares, are reserved for institutional investors. That group will invest a minimum of $25,000 in those shares, and will typically do so in groups. Everyday investors may be able to access Class I shares through theiremployer’s retirement plan. They’ll be rewarded with lower expense ratios, which lead to lower fees than other mutual fund class shares. Which Mutual Fund Share Class Is Best? The answer to this is different for every investor and it depends largely on your objectives. For example, you may veer toward Class A shares if you’re comfortable with the higher initial fee because you plan to hold your shares for several years or several decades. On the other hand, Class B shares may be more suited to someone who has a smaller amount to invest because they don’t carry the high investment minimum often required by Class A shares. Class C shares could appeal to investors who want to make short-term trades in their portfolio to try and generate higher returns. Class D shares, though less common, could be a way to escape load fees altogether. The Bottom Line Understanding mutual fund share classes is an important part of any investing strategy, and especially so for beginner investors. Looking at the big picture before buying shares can help you minimize the fees you pay. Minimizing fees can help you keep more of your returns over time. Tips for Choosing Mutual Funds • If you need clarity on fund fees or what a fund invests in, you may want to talk to a financial advisor. Finding the right financial advisor thatfits your needsdoesn’t have to be hard.SmartAsset’s free toolmatches you with financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals,get started now. • If you’re new to investing, chances are you’re looking forward to the returns. But Uncle Sam is never far from the exchange of money, and investing is no exception. SmartAsset’scapital gains tax calculatorcan help you figure out what to expect. Photo credit: ©iStock.com/bymuratdeniz, ©iStock.com/Cecilie_Arcurs, ©iStock.com/photobyphotoboy The postThe Different Types of Mutual Fund Classesappeared first onSmartAsset Blog. • A Guide to Interval Funds • Return on Equity (ROE): Definition and Examples • How Are Profit Margins Defined and Measured?
Nvidia (NVDA) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know Nvidia (NVDA) closed at $164.23 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.61% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.58%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.28%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.48%. Heading into today, shares of the maker of graphics chips for gaming and artificial intelligence had gained 17.34% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.51% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.62% in that time. NVDA will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, NVDA is projected to report earnings of $1.14 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 41.24%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $2.55 billion, down 18.46% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.28 per share and revenue of $10.90 billion, which would represent changes of -20.48% and -6.93%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for NVDA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. NVDA currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). In terms of valuation, NVDA is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.92. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.24. Also, we should mention that NVDA has a PEG ratio of 3.3. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Semiconductor - General industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.86 as of yesterday's close. The Semiconductor - General industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 102, putting it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. Click to get this free reportNVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
The Latest: Suspect in Utah killing had been accused of rape SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Latest on the investigation into a Utah college student's disappearance (all times local): 4:25 p.m. A northern Utah police department says it investigated a rape allegation five years ago against a man suspected of killing a Salt Lake City college student, but say the alleged victim declined to pursue charges. North Park Police said in a news release Friday that the alleged victim was an adult woman. The agency says Ayoola A. Ajayi lived in the North Logan area from 2013-2015. Police declined to provide additional details about the allegation. Ajayi attended Utah State University that is located nearby on and off during the years he lived in that community. Ajayi was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder, kidnapping, obstruction of justice and desecration of a body. ___ 3:50 p.m. A Utah man accused of killing a Utah college student attended Utah State University on and off for seven years, but did not earn a degree. University spokesman Tim Vitale said Friday that Ayoola A. Ajayi was a student at the college three separate times from 2009-2016. He didn't pick a major. Utah Army National Guard Major David Gibb says Ajayi, now 31, also served in the Utah Army National Guard for six months, but did not complete basic training and was discharged in June 2015. Ajayi's LinkedIn page says he has worked in information technology for several companies including Dell and Goldman Sachs. Ajayi was arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of murder and kidnapping in the case of 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck, who went missing June 17. ___ 3:10 p.m. A Utah man accused of killing a missing Utah college student will be held without bail. Online court records show a judge ruled Friday afternoon that 31-year-old Ayoola A. Ajayi is a danger to the community and a threat to flee if he was released on bail. Ajayi was arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of murder and kidnapping in the case of that 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck. A new probable cause statement reveals that Ajayi was texting with Lueck prior to her disappearance on June 17. Story continues She was last seen at a park at 3 a.m., where police say phone location data put him at the same place at nearly exactly the same time. It wasn't immediately clear if Ajayi had an attorney. He has not returned previous messages from The Associated Press. ___ 12:35 p.m. Police say a man charged in the death of a Utah college student connected with her the day before she disappeared, and investigators are still looking for anyone suspected of helping him. Salt Lake City Police chief Mike Brown said Friday that 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck communicated with 31-year-old Ayoola A. Ajayi electronically on June 16, though he declined to say how they got in touch. Lueck disappeared hours after that communication. Police say she met someone at a park in the early morning hours of June 17, and left with that person willingly. Police say Ajayi has denied communicating with her after June 16, but phone location data puts them both at the park where she was last seen within a minute of each other at 3 a.m. on June 17. __ The item above deletes reference to first communication. It is unknown if they communicated previously. __ 12:05 p.m. The uncle of a missing Utah college student is thanking police for their work during an 11-day search that ended with news of her death. The uncle of 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck did not identify himself, but held back tears as he read a statement from her family to reporters at a news conference on Friday. Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown says the phone call he made giving father Greg Lueck news of her death was one of the most difficult he has ever made. Prosecutors say they are charging 31-year-old Ayoola A. Ajayi with murder and aggravated kidnapping in her death. They say she was killed shortly after meeting in a park in the early-morning hours of June 17. Investigators are still trying to determine if others were involved. ___ 11:45 a.m. Authorities are filing murder and kidnapping charges in the death of a Utah college student who disappeared 11 days ago. Salt Lake City police chief Mike Brown said 31-year-old Ayoola A. Ajayi will be charged with aggravated murder, kidnaping and desecration of a body in the death of 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck. Police say Ajayi met Lueck at a park where she was last seen after taking a Lyft from the airport at 3 a.m. Brown says burned evidence, including Lueck's things and her remains, was found at his home. The home was searched on Wednesday and Thursday and Ajayi was the man previously identified as a person of interest. It wasn't immediately clear if Ajayi had an attorney. He has not returned previous messages from The Associated Press. __ 10:30 a.m. Police say one person has been taken into custody in the case of a Utah college student who disappeared 11 days ago. Salt Lake City police said the person was brought in Friday morning, but did not immediately provide further details ahead of a planned news conference. The news comes a day after police finished using shovels and dogs in their search of a home belonging to a man they called a "person of interest" in the case. They also removed a vehicle from the man's home. Investigators have also been searching for a mattress given away from the home last week. Mackenzie Lueck disappeared after taking a Lyft June 17 from the airport to a park. Police said she met an unidentified person at 3 a.m. ___ Corrects that police say missing woman communicated with suspect on June 16, but police haven't confirmed that was their first communication.
Americans Are Missing Out on Trillions in Social Security Americans will lose out on $3.4 trillion in benefits by claiming Social Security too early, according to a new report from United Income, an investment management and financial planning company. Written by a team that includes former Social Security officials, the report found that 96% of retirees choose a less-than-optimal time to start claiming their benefits, resulting in an average loss of $68,000 per household for current retirees. The group says that the optimal retirement age for most retirees is 70, even if workers have to dip into retirement savings to wait that long: “We find that U.S. retirees would be able to generate an additional $3.4T in income during their retirement if they optimized the decision about when to claim Social Security, or about a 9 percent increase in total expected future income among retirees that made a sub-optimal financial claiming decision. Nearly all of this income is lost because one or more retirees in a household claim Social Security too early, which means their Social Security benefit is lower than it would be if they had waited. For instance, a person that would receive a $725 monthly benefit if they claimed Social Security at 62 would see that benefit increase to $1,280 if they had delayed until their 70th birthday, an increase of 177 percent. Spread out across the population of individuals that are claiming Social Security sub-optimally, those extra dollars add up to a substantial amount of money. In fact, the average household that claims sub-optimally would see their retirement income increase by $110,546, and the median household would see their income in retirement increase by $81,673, or an average annual increase of about $3,400 in income." The flip side of the analysis is that if more Americans wait longer to receive their benefits, it would end up costing the Social Security system that much more. Read the report here. Like what you're reading? Sign up for ourfree newsletter.
Governor signs $34 billion 'divided government' budget HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Gov. Tom Wolf signed a $34 billion compromise budget Friday after lawmakers wrapped up the week with a flurry of votes on hundreds of pages of legislation that in some cases drew angry protests from his fellow Democrats. Fueled by strong tax collections, the budget boosts aid to public schools and universities, holds the line on taxes, and stuffs a substantial sum into reserves. Both Wolf and top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature said they were proud of the budget. However, Wolf saw some of his top priorities blocked by Republicans, and he gave into a Republican demand to end a decades-old cash assistance program for the destitute deemed temporarily unable to work. Not a single Democratic lawmaker voted for the bill, which ends the program called "general assistance," and debate over it in the Senate turned ugly Wednesday. Meanwhile, 62 of the 70 votes against the main spending bill were from Wolf's fellow Democrats, some of whom criticized the budget as lacking courage. "In divided government, you have to advocate aggressively, you have to negotiate hard, and you also have to do what's best for all of the people you serve," Wolf said in a statement Friday announcing he would sign the budget bills. "You have to do everything you can to promote the most forward-looking agenda you can conceive, and to prevent regressive policies from becoming law." In interviews Friday, Wolf said he understood Democrats' frustration that the budget didn't go far enough, but he defended it as "making lives better" and said the state is far ahead of where it was when he took office in 2015. "We're a much more progressive state than we were five years ago, and I'm very proud of that," Wolf said. "At the same time, there's still a lot of work to be done." Both chambers gaveled out until September after approving the final budget-related bills. Story continues Lawmakers passed a separate measure to help counties afford new voting machines that have an auditable paper trail ahead of the 2020 presidential election, although Democratic lawmakers protested some of the bill's provisions changing election laws. All told, the 2019-20 spending plan, for the budget year that starts Monday, authorizes new spending of nearly $2 billion, or about 6% more than the current fiscal year's approved spending. Much of the extra spending covers new discretionary aid for public schools, plus extra amounts to meet rising costs for prisons, debt, pension obligations and health care for the poor. It sends $210 million more to public school operations and instruction, as well as tens of millions more to pre-kindergarten programs and higher education institutions. It is also expected to leave nearly $300 million for the state's "rainy day" budgetary reserve. Much of it was similar to the $34.1 billion proposal Wolf issued in February. Healthy revenues eased pressure on lawmakers and the governor, helping them deliver an on-time budget after protracted battles during Wolf's first three years in office. Still, Republicans rejected a push by Wolf and his Democratic allies to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage, as well as a new fee proposed by the governor on municipalities that rely solely on state troopers for local police services. For the fifth straight year under Wolf, Republicans again blocked a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling he had sought this year to underwrite infrastructure and development projects. The Legislature authorized borrowing $90 million to pay for voting machines, to help counties with a tab expected to exceed $100 million. The borrowing provision emerged at the 11th hour, after weeks of Republicans saying they did not support Wolf's demand that counties buy new machines. On Wednesday night, Republicans abruptly bundled the borrowing provision into a measure carrying changes to voting laws that Democrats opposed. Wolf on Friday would not say whether he would sign or veto it but said there are elements of it that he doesn't like and suggested that it didn't go nearly far enough in improving access to voting. Determined to end the general assistance program, Republicans packaged it into legislation reauthorizing state subsidies for Philadelphia hospitals. Asked about that strategy, House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said it is the reality of divided government. "I won't discuss the private conversations I had with any of the parties, but the truth is we were trying to reach a compromise as much as possible," Cutler said. Wolf said he had no choice but to sign the bill eliminating general assistance but added that he is working on a way to help the thousands of people it was projected to serve.
Chemours says DuPont lowballed environmental liabilities DOVER, Del. (AP) — The DuPont Co. massively downplayed the cost of environmental liabilities with which Chemours would be saddled when DuPont spun off its former performance chemicals unit in 2015, according to a lawsuit unsealed Friday. The maximum liability exposure figures that DuPont certified prior to the spinoff have proven to be "systematically and spectacularly wrong," Chemours alleges. Chemours, for example, claims that it faces more than $200 million in costs to address environmental issues at a North Carolina manufacturing facility, 100 times DuPont's estimated $2 million maximum liability. Potential environmental liabilities in New Jersey similarly far exceed the $337 million cited by DuPont at the time of the spinoff, Chemours contends. DuPont has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying any disputes arising from the separation of its former performance chemicals unit must be resolved through private arbitration. "Chemours' claims center on its hyperbolic allegations that the separation agreement was a one-sided 'cram down.' Far from it," DuPont attorneys wrote in court filing Friday. "The spinoff of DuPont's Performance Chemicals business into Chemours complied with all applicable legal requirements and followed standard practices relating to such transactions." Chemours said the filing of the lawsuit was in the best interest of its stakeholders. Chemours is asking a judge to declare that it is not responsible for liabilities exceeding the maximums certified by DuPont. It also wants to be able to get DuPont to cover any historical DuPont liabilities that exceed the caps. Alternatively, it is asking that the $3.9 billion divided it paid DuPont at the time of the spinoff be returned. The lawsuit was filed under seal last month, but Chemours failed to file a redacted, public version as required within three days. A redacted version — virtually entirely blacked out — was docketed shortly after The Associated Press pointed out the expiration of the deadline and asked the court to unseal the complaint. A judge ruled that the continued secrecy violated court rules and ordered the complaint unsealed. Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by DuPont. Chemours claims that DuPont had "a keen incentive" to downplay environmental liabilities while extracting a multibillion-dollar dividend from Chemours that would help fund a stock buyback to ward off activist investor Trian Fund Management. At the time of the spinoff, DuPont was facing multidistrict litigation involving 3,500 personal injury claims related to PFOA, a chemical used in the production of Teflon, Chemours noted. DuPont pegged the maximum liability for those cases at $128 million. It settled 19 months later for $671 million, with DuPont agreeing to pay half the settlement amount, and up to $125 million more toward costs of other PFOA-related litigation. DuPont similarly downplayed environmental liabilities at its Fayetteville Works plant in North Carolina, despite undertaking a study in 2010 to address chemical discharges into the Cape Fear River, which provides drinking water for tens of thousands of people, Chemours claims. DuPont's options included investing $60 million to end the discharges, but the recommendation was to spend $20 million to reduce discharges by 70%. Instead, according to the lawsuit, DuPont spent $2.3 million on a system that eliminated only one waste stream. "Coincidentally, this decision came right around the time DuPont conceived and announced its plan to spin off Chemours," the lawsuit states. "... Why bother spending money to fix the problem, DuPont apparently reasoned, when it could be conveniently passed on to Chemours." In a consent order with the state of North Carolina, Chemours agreed last year to pay a $12 million penalty and $1 million for investigative costs, and to sharply reduce air emissions of compound known as GenX. The company says the total cost of the consent order will exceed $200 million. New Jersey officials, meanwhile, filed several lawsuits against DuPont and Chemours earlier this year over DuPont's legacy environmental liabilities. According to Chemours' lawsuit, state officials warned that the cost of compensating the state could be "staggeringly expensive."
Buy UniFirst (UNF) Stock After Strong Q3 2019 Earnings? UniFirst Corp UNF stock has surged over 12% since it released its Q3 earnings report on Wednesday. Should investors consider buying the Massachusetts-based company that sells and rents uniforms and protective clothing now? Earnings Beat UniFirst’s Q3 earnings beat analyst estimates by a whopping 44.71%. UniFirst reported EPS of $2.46, compared to our Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.70. The company also provided upbeat guidance for the rest of the fiscal year, calling for EPS between $8.75 and $8.85. Our current estimates call for fiscal 2019 EPS of $7.96, significantly below the company’s new expectations. UniFirst has reported fiscal 2019 revenue of $1.33 billion through the first three quarters, compared to $1.26 billion through the same period last year. Meanwhile, the company’s Q3 revenue climbed 6% from Q3 2018 to $453.7 million. Dividend Announcement On Thursday, the company declared a dividend of $0.1125 per share for common stock and $0.09 per share for class B common stock. That dividend is consistent with the amount it has paid out over the past five quarters. It also, at the time of writing, represents a dividend yield of 0.23%. Although the dividend yield is rather low, UniFirst raised its dividend 175% to its current level last year. Outlook UniFirst was added to the list of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks on Friday. Along with its Zacks Rank #1 standing, the company boasts an overall “A” VGM (Value, Growth, and Momentum) grade in our Style Score system. Our Zacks Consensus Estimates call for fiscal 2019 revenue and earnings to grow 6.56% and 6.85%, respectively. Looking further ahead, fiscal 2020 is expected to bring an additional 1.59% revenue growth on top of its fiscal 2019 number, but earnings are expected to shrink 2.94% from the fiscal 2019 expectations. UNF stock is currently trading at a P/E of 24.9 compared to its industry average of 27.27. This suggests that the stock is possibly undervalued at its current price. YTD, UniFirst stock is up 31.7%, more than double the 15.4% increase seen by the S&P 500. Additionally, UniFirst has beat earnings expectations three out of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 19.53%. If the company were to beat estimates for its Q4 fiscal 2019 by that significant of a margin it would likely give the stock a large boost and add on to its already impressive YTD growth. Today's Best Stocks from ZacksWould you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.See their latest picks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportUnifirst Corporation (UNF) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
World Cup: Sydney Leroux Dwyer gives birth just before USWNT win against France Former USWNT forward Sydney Leroux Dwyer gave birth to her second child early on Friday morning, just hours before the United States women’s national team took on France in the World Cup quarterfinals. Leroux Dwyer — who helped lead the USWNT to their World Cup win in 2015 — and her husband, Dom Dwyer, shared the news of their new daughter on social media. “Roux James, our sweet girl came into the world kicking and screaming (just like her parents) at 3:42 a.m.,” Leroux Dwyer wrote. “Welcome to the world baby girl.” Roux James 💕 our sweet girl came into the world kicking and screaming (just like her parents) at 3:42 am. Welcome to the world baby girl. pic.twitter.com/DnxuxNt8Ql — Sydney Leroux Dwyer (@sydneyleroux) June 28, 2019 Dwyer shared a similar message on Twitter with a photo of his oldest son, Cassius, sitting with his mom and Roux. This is my chance, to share my world with you.... and I know you’re gonna like it 🌎 “Roux James Dwyer” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/lVLEGNeS77 — Dom Dwyer (@Ddwyer14) June 28, 2019 Leroux Dwyer, though, didn’t let the birth of her second child stop her from watching the USWNT’s match against France on Friday afternoon. She posted a video to Twitter shortly after Megan Rapinoe’s goal in the opening minutes against France of her hilariously cheering quietly next to her sleeping newborn, so as not to wake her up. LFG!!!! @mPinoe . 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/i4Md1jZzdT — Sydney Leroux Dwyer (@sydneyleroux) June 28, 2019 Leroux Dwyer currently plays for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League, though has missed the entire season due to her pregnancy. Her husband, Dom, is also a forward for Orlando City in the MLS. He has scored four goals over 13 games for Orlando this season, though he has missed their last three games to be home with his wife. The 28-year-old led the team with 13 goals last season. Story continues The USWNT beat France 2-1 in the quarterfinal match in Paris on Friday behind a pair of goals from Rapinoe. The United States, now just one win away from competing for a second consecutive world title, will take on England in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday afternoon. Former USWNT forward Sydney Leroux Dwyer wasn't going to miss the United States' World Cup win against France on Friday, even if the game was just hours after she gave birth to her second child. (Rich Lam/Getty Images) More from Yahoo Sports: Rose responds to LaVar Ball's cringeworthy remark Former WWE star tells harrowing depression tale Brady takes subtle shot at ESPN star's 'cliff' comment Wetzel: For the USWNT, Trump could be Motivator-in-Chief
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Mistras Group, Inc. (MG) Is Mistras Group, Inc. (NYSE:MG) a good equity to bet on right now? We like to check what the smart money thinks first before doing extensive research. Although there have been several high profile failed hedge fund picks, the consensus picks among hedge fund investors have historically outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk attributes. It's not surprising given that hedge funds have access to better information and more resources to predict the winners in the stock market. IsMistras Group, Inc. (NYSE:MG)a buy here? The best stock pickers are taking a bearish view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets were trimmed by 2 lately. Our calculations also showed that mg isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio. We're going to go over the recent hedge fund action surrounding Mistras Group, Inc. (NYSE:MG). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -17% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards MG over the last 15 quarters. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions). The largest stake in Mistras Group, Inc. (NYSE:MG) was held byRutabaga Capital Management, which reported holding $10.1 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Renaissance Technologies with a $6.5 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included D E Shaw, Engine Capital, and Arrowstreet Capital. Seeing as Mistras Group, Inc. (NYSE:MG) has experienced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it's safe to say that there were a few hedgies that slashed their positions entirely heading into Q3. At the top of the heap, Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementsaid goodbye to the largest investment of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling close to $2 million in stock, and Benjamin A. Smith's Laurion Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds heading into Q3. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Mistras Group, Inc. (NYSE:MG). These stocks are Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc (NYSE:RRTS), Gogo Inc (NASDAQ:GOGO), CryoPort, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYRX), and Village Super Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLGEA). This group of stocks' market values resemble MG's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position RRTS,7,356885,1 GOGO,12,76961,1 CYRX,7,6423,3 VLGEA,8,49382,0 Average,8.5,122413,1.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 8.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $122 million. That figure was $28 million in MG's case. Gogo Inc (NASDAQ:GOGO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc (NYSE:RRTS) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Mistras Group, Inc. (NYSE:MG) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately MG wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on MG were disappointed as the stock returned 0.1% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About RealNetworks Inc (RNWK) The 700+ hedge funds and famous money managers tracked by Insider Monkey have already compiled and submitted their 13F filings for the first quarter, which unveil their equity positions as of March 31. We went through these filings, fixed typos and other more significant errors and identified the changes in hedge fund portfolios. Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over, so this article is set to reveal the smart money sentiment towards RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ:RNWK). RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ:RNWK)was in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. RNWK has experienced an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with RNWK holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that RNWK isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. [caption id="attachment_747612" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Eric Singer of VIEX Capital[/caption] We're going to take a glance at the new hedge fund action encompassing RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ:RNWK). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 43% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards RNWK over the last 15 quarters. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ:RNWK) was held byAriel Investments, which reported holding $20.6 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by VIEX Capital Advisors with a $8.1 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Renaissance Technologies, Ancora Advisors, and Millennium Management. Now, key money managers were breaking ground themselves.Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, created the most valuable position in RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ:RNWK). Citadel Investment Group had $0.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt.also made a $0.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new RNWK position is Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ:RNWK). We will take a look at Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRVS), County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICBK), Castle Brands Inc (NYSE:ROX), and Luna Innovations Incorporated (NASDAQ:LUNA). This group of stocks' market values resemble RNWK's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CRVS,7,38492,-2 ICBK,3,4881,1 ROX,4,1001,0 LUNA,2,5344,-1 Average,4,12430,-0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 4 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $12 million. That figure was $36 million in RNWK's case. Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRVS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Luna Innovations Incorporated (NASDAQ:LUNA) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks RealNetworks Inc (NASDAQ:RNWK) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately RNWK wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on RNWK were disappointed as the stock returned -38.9% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (FCPT) Hedge funds and other investment firms that we track manage billions of dollars of their wealthy clients' money, and needless to say, they are painstakingly thorough when analyzing where to invest this money, as their own wealth also depends on it. Regardless of the various methods used by elite investors like David Tepper and David Abrams, the resources they expend are second-to-none. This is especially valuable when it comes to small-cap stocks, which is where they generate their strongest outperformance, as their resources give them a huge edge when it comes to studying these stocks compared to the average investor, which is why we intently follow their activity in the small-cap space. Hedge fund interest inFour Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT)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 Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI), Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR), and Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) to gather more data points. If you'd ask most shareholders, hedge funds are viewed as slow, old financial vehicles of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at present, We hone in on the moguls of this group, approximately 750 funds. These money managers preside over the lion's share of the smart money's total capital, and by shadowing their first-class picks, Insider Monkey has found various investment strategies that have historically defeated the broader indices. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). Let's check out the recent hedge fund action surrounding Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 10 hedge funds with a bullish position in FCPT a year ago. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) was held byCarlson Capital, which reported holding $22.8 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Waterfront Capital Partners with a $21.6 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Millennium Management, Renaissance Technologies, and D E Shaw. Seeing as Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) has faced a decline in interest from hedge fund managers, it's easy to see that there is a sect of funds that elected to cut their positions entirely in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Richard Driehaus'sDriehaus Capitaldumped the largest investment of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $0.7 million in stock. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace's fund,Marshall Wace LLP, also sold off its stock, about $0 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience). Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT). We will take a look at Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI), Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR), Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC), and Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to FCPT's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position POWI,6,79088,2 IVR,15,94994,2 CMC,11,275034,-6 GVA,15,85145,4 Average,11.75,133565,0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 11.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $134 million. That figure was $93 million in FCPT's case. Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately FCPT wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on FCPT were disappointed as the stock returned -2.8% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (ASPS) Legendary investors such as Jeffrey Talpins and Seth Klarman earn enormous amounts of money for themselves and their investors by doing in-depth research on small-cap stocks that big brokerage houses don't publish. Small cap stocks -especially when they are screened well- can generate substantial outperformance versus a boring index fund. That's why we analyze the activity of those elite funds in these small-cap stocks. In the following paragraphs, we analyze Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (NASDAQ:ASPS) from the perspective of those elite funds. Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (NASDAQ:ASPS)investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world's largest hedge funds in recent months. Our calculations also showed that ASPS isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. According to most stock holders, hedge funds are perceived as slow, outdated financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at the moment, Our researchers hone in on the upper echelon of this club, approximately 750 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people administer the lion's share of the smart money's total asset base, and by watching their matchless equity investments, Insider Monkey has spotted numerous investment strategies that have historically beaten the broader indices. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). [caption id="attachment_758477" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Andy Redleaf of Whitebox Advisors[/caption] Let's take a peek at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (NASDAQ:ASPS). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -9% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 11 hedge funds with a bullish position in ASPS a year ago. With hedge funds' capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were adding to their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions). The largest stake in Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (NASDAQ:ASPS) was held byRenaissance Technologies, which reported holding $11.6 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by GLG Partners with a $7.1 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Whitebox Advisors, CQS Cayman LP, and D E Shaw. We view hedge fund activity in the stock unfavorable, but in this case there was only a single hedge fund selling its entire position:Omega Advisors. One hedge fund selling its entire position doesn't always imply a bearish intent. Theoretically a hedge fund may decide to sell a promising position in order to invest the proceeds in a more promising idea. However, we don't think this is the case in this case because none of the 700+ hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey identified ASPS as a viable investment and initiated a position in the stock. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (NASDAQ:ASPS) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Gritstone Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRTS), Target Hospitality Corp. (NASDAQ:TH), CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE), and Chuy's Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CHUY). This group of stocks' market caps resemble ASPS's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position GRTS,8,83888,-1 TH,17,86197,17 CCNE,5,27376,1 CHUY,10,32632,-2 Average,10,57523,3.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 10 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $58 million. That figure was $33 million in ASPS's case. Target Hospitality Corp. (NASDAQ:TH) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (NASDAQ:ASPS) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ASPS wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); ASPS investors were disappointed as the stock returned -18.8% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Do Hedge Funds Love CNOOC Limited (CEO)? It was a rough fourth quarter for many hedge funds, which were naturally unable to overcome the big dip in the broad market, as the S&P 500 fell by about 4.8% during 2018 and average hedge fund losing about 1%. The Russell 2000, composed of smaller companies, performed even worse, trailing the S&P by more than 6 percentage points, as investors fled less-known quantities for safe havens. Luckily hedge funds were shifting their holdings into large-cap stocks. The 20 most popular hedge fund stocks actually generated an average return of 18.7% so far in 2019 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF by 6.6 percentage points. We are done processing the latest 13f filings and in this article we will study how hedge fund sentiment towards CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO) changed during the first quarter. CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO)investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately. Our calculations also showed that CEO isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. We're going to analyze the fresh hedge fund action regarding CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO). At Q1's end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -13% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards CEO over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions). The largest stake in CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO) was held byRenaissance Technologies, which reported holding $130 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Arrowstreet Capital with a $67 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Oaktree Capital Management, Horseman Capital Management, and Maverick Capital. Seeing as CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO) has experienced a decline in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's easy to see that there were a few hedge funds who were dropping their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold'sLMR Partnerscut the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds followed by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $9.8 million in stock. Noam Gottesman's fund,GLG Partners, also sold off its stock, about $1.1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds last quarter. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO) but similarly valued. These stocks are Alexander's, Inc. (NYSE:ALX), Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW), Altus Midstream Company (NASDAQ:ALTM), and Heron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HRTX). This group of stocks' market valuations resemble CEO's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ALX,4,68989,-2 GNW,24,109872,2 ALTM,6,30159,1 HRTX,31,591998,6 Average,16.25,200255,1.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 16.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $200 million. That figure was $294 million in CEO's case. Heron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HRTX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Alexander's, Inc. (NYSE:ALX) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. CNOOC Limited (NYSE:CEO) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately CEO wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); CEO investors were disappointed as the stock returned -7.8% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP) A market surge in the first quarter, spurred by easing global macroeconomic concerns and Powell's pivot ended up having a positive impact on the markets and many hedge funds as a result. The stocks of smaller companies which were especially hard hit during the fourth quarter slightly outperformed the market during the first quarter. Unfortunately, Trump is unpredictable and volatility returned in the second quarter and smaller-cap stocks went back to selling off. We finished compiling the latest 13F filings to get an idea about what hedge funds are thinking about the overall market as well as individual stocks. In this article we will study the hedge fund sentiment to see how those concerns affected their ownership of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) during the quarter. Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.CMPwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with CMP holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that CMP isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. Let's go over the fresh hedge fund action surrounding Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 8% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards CMP over the last 15 quarters. With hedgies' sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions). More specifically,Cove Street Capitalwas the largest shareholder of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP), with a stake worth $45.9 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Cove Street Capital was Southpoint Capital Advisors, which amassed a stake valued at $27.2 million. Wallace R. Weitz & Co., Millennium Management, and Citadel Investment Group were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Consequently, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness.PDT Partners, managed by Peter Muller, created the biggest position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP). PDT Partners had $3.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Benjamin A. Smith'sLaurion Capital Managementalso initiated a $0.5 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CMP investors: David Harding'sWinton Capital Management, Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt., and Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle'sSpringbok Capital. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) but similarly valued. We will take a look at QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP), Atara Biotherapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ATRA), Redfin Corporation (NASDAQ:RDFN), and Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX). This group of stocks' market values match CMP's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position QEP,23,291990,-2 ATRA,15,672346,4 RDFN,8,177016,1 ALEX,5,8561,-5 Average,12.75,287478,-0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 12.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $287 million. That figure was $100 million in CMP's case. QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Alexander & Baldwin Inc (NYSE:ALEX) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on CMP as the stock returned 7.3% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Pro-Remain cabinet minister David Gauke survives no-confidence vote One of the cabinet’s most prominent opponents of a no-deal Brexit has survived a no-confidence vote. David Gauke , the pro-Remain justice minister who represents South West Hertfordshire, faced his local Conservative Association on Friday. He tweeted his thanks to members , who voted two-to-one against the motion, which had the backing of pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU . He said: ”Tonight, I argued that: We should not allow the party to be taken over by entryists. We should be a broad church. No deal would be immensely damaging to the UK. “I defeated a motion of no confidence 123 to 61. I am grateful to the members of my association for their support.” Hours later, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was "very pleased to have got it out of the way". He said: "I was always pretty confident I was going to win but you never quite know who is going to turn up on the night, so I'm very pleased to have won and won pretty comfortably." Mr Gauke blamed "entryists" for the plot to oust him, saying "a fair number of those who joined the party in the last few months have not previously been party members". Leave.EU had said it wanted to “claim our first cabinet scalp”, with Mr Gauke being put up for “deselection” on Friday evening. They had tweeted : “Tomorrow we claim our first cabinet scalp as David Gauke is up for deselection in South West Herts. “With a new leader and potential election, now is the time to make the Conservative Party conservative again. If we fail? The Brexit Party wipes the floor with them. Win win!” Showing a sense of humour about the attempt, Mr Gauke retweeted the Leave.EU challenge , adding: “Not so fast there, Arron.” Mr Gauke had won strong public support from cabinet colleagues, including Jeremy Hunt, the Tory leadership candidate and foreign secretary. Mr Hunt tweeted : “David Gauke is an outstanding cabinet colleague and we need him to carry on doing such a great job!” Story continues Sajid Javid, the home secretary, who also stood in the leadership contest, also offered his support. Mr Javid tweeted : “David Gauke an outstanding colleague and minister. Has consistently backed government and manifesto commitments. I hope his local association back him tonight.” Following the defeat, Leave.EU tweeted : “BREAKING David Gauke survives his confidence vote. Can’t win them all! “The Blue Wave rides on... Plenty of other petitions going in. We’re just getting started!”
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About First Merchants Corporation (FRME) Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) lagged the larger S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 9 percentage points since the end of the third quarter of 2018 as investors worried over the possible ramifications of rising interest rates and escalation of the trade war with China. The hedge funds and institutional investors we track typically invest more in smaller-cap stocks than an average investor (i.e. only 298 S&P 500 constituents were among the 500 most popular stocks among hedge funds), and we have seen data that shows those funds paring back their overall exposure. Those funds cutting positions in small-caps is one reason why volatility has increased. In the following paragraphs, we take a closer look at what hedge funds and prominent investors think of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) and see how the stock is affected by the recent hedge fund activity. Hedge fund interest inFirst Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME)shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. At the end of this article we will also compare FRME to other stocks including Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE:PLT), LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC), and LegacyTexas Financial Group Inc (NASDAQ:LTXB) to get a better sense of its popularity. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to analyze the latest hedge fund action encompassing First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 0% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 16 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in FRME a year ago. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,Cardinal Capitalheld the most valuable stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME), which was worth $76.7 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $28.6 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Castine Capital Management, and AQR Capital Management were also bullish on First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. We view hedge fund activity in the stock unfavorable, but in this case there was only a single hedge fund selling its entire position:HBK Investments. One hedge fund selling its entire position doesn't always imply a bearish intent. Theoretically a hedge fund may decide to sell a promising position in order to invest the proceeds in a more promising idea. However, we don't think this is the case in this case because only one of the 800+ hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey identified as a viable investment and initiated a position in the stock (that fund wasMinerva Advisors). Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME). These stocks are Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE:PLT), LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC), LegacyTexas Financial Group Inc (NASDAQ:LTXB), and Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLBK). All of these stocks' market caps are similar to FRME's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position PLT,19,91583,3 LTC,9,32304,-3 LTXB,12,89912,0 CLBK,8,25859,2 Average,12,59915,0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 12 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $60 million. That figure was $147 million in FRME's case. Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE:PLT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLBK) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately FRME wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on FRME were disappointed as the stock returned -1.2% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Mueller Industries, Inc. (MLI) World-class money managers like Ken Griffin and Barry Rosenstein only invest their wealthy clients' money after undertaking a rigorous examination of any potential stock. They are particularly successful in this regard when it comes to small-cap stocks, which their peerless research gives them a big information advantage on when it comes to judging their worth. It's not surprising then that they generate their biggest returns from these stocks and invest more of their money in these stocks on average than other investors. It's also not surprising then that we pay close attention to these picks ourselves and have built a market-beating investment strategy around them. Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)was in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. MLI has seen an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with MLI holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that MLI isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. Let's take a gander at the key hedge fund action encompassing Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI). At Q1's end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 30% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards MLI over the last 15 quarters. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,GAMCO Investorsheld the most valuable stake in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI), which was worth $133.1 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Royce & Associates which amassed $25.2 million worth of shares. Moreover, Fisher Asset Management, D E Shaw, and Arrowstreet Capital were also bullish on Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Now, key hedge funds were leading the bulls' herd.Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, initiated the most valuable position in Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI). Arrowstreet Capital had $4.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Managementalso initiated a $0.9 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MLI investors: Benjamin A. Smith'sLaurion Capital Managementand Hoon Kim'sQuantinno Capital. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX), Summit Materials Inc (NYSE:SUM), SJW Corp. (NYSE:SJW), and Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to MLI's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position AX,13,61258,-2 SUM,22,480411,2 SJW,15,172638,-5 TSEM,12,258420,-4 Average,15.5,243182,-2.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 15.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $243 million. That figure was $185 million in MLI's case. Summit Materials Inc (NYSE:SUM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately MLI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); MLI investors were disappointed as the stock returned -9.2% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Gold Price Prediction – Prices Whipsaw Despite Slowing Inflation Gold prices were nearly unchanged on Friday, ahead of the weekends G20 meeting in Osaka Japan. Prices attempted to push higher but were rejected generating a doji day where the open and closer were nearly the same level. US inflation data showed there was very little price increases in May, which weighed on yields but the dollar was nearly unchanged on the session. Gold prices whipsawed on Friday and finished the week up 2.85%. Support on the yellow metal is seen near the 10-day moving average at 1,390. Resistance is seen near the June highs at 1,433. Medium term momentum remains positive as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) histogram prints in the black with an upward sloping trajectory which points to higher prices. Prices are overbought. The relative strength index (RSI) surged higher reflecting accelerating positive momentum. The current reading on the RSI is 77, well above the overbought trigger level of 70 which could foreshadow a correction. Prices can remain overbought for an extended period when a breakout such as this one occurs. The fast stochastic generated a crossover sell signal in overbought territory. The currency reading on the fast stochastic is 75, below the overbought trigger level of 80. Consumer prices remain subdued according to a key inflation gauge watched by the Fed. Personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.2% last month as a rebound in food prices was tempered by moderate gains in the cost of other goods. The PCE price index increased 0.3% in April. On a year over year basis May PCE price index increased 1.5%, slowing from April’s 1.6% increase. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index climbed 0.2% last month May after a similar gain in April. For the year ending in May, the so-called core PCE price index increased 1.6%, matching April’s rise. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • GBP/USD Price Forecast – British pound continues to grind • GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British pound rallies into resistance • USD/JPY Price Forecast – US dollar gaps after G 20 against yen • Part II – Are Real Estate Etf’s The Next Big Trade? • AUD/USD Price Forecast – Aussie forms bearish candle • E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Strengthens Over 7830.25, Weakens Under 7818.75
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Kindred Biosciences Inc (KIN) Like everyone else, elite investors make mistakes. Some of their top consensus picks, such as Amazon, Facebook and Alibaba, have not done well in Q4 due to various reasons. Nevertheless, the data show elite investors' consensus picks have done well on average over the long-term. The top 20 stocks among hedge funds beat the S&P 500 Index ETF by more than 6 percentage points so far this year. Because their consensus picks have done well, we pay attention to what elite funds think before doing extensive research on a stock. In this article, we take a closer look at Kindred Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:KIN) from the perspective of those elite funds. IsKindred Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:KIN)an attractive stock to buy now? Hedge funds are in an optimistic mood. The number of long hedge fund bets improved by 4 lately. Our calculations also showed that kin isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Today there are a large number of formulas investors can use to appraise publicly traded companies. A duo of the less utilized formulas are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see the details here). Let's take a look at the recent hedge fund action encompassing Kindred Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:KIN). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 67% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards KIN over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions). According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database,Park West Asset Management, managed by Peter S. Park, holds the biggest position in Kindred Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:KIN). Park West Asset Management has a $61.8 million position in the stock, comprising 2.7% of its 13F portfolio. On Park West Asset Management's heels is John W. Rogers ofAriel Investments, with a $24 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism comprise Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson'sAdage Capital Management, Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologiesand Anand Parekh'sAlyeska Investment Group. As aggregate interest increased, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves.Alyeska Investment Group, managed by Anand Parekh, created the most valuable position in Kindred Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:KIN). Alyeska Investment Group had $3.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementalso initiated a $2.5 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new KIN investors: David Rosen'sRubric Capital Management, Frank Slattery'sSymmetry Peak Management, and David Harding'sWinton Capital Management. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Kindred Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:KIN) but similarly valued. These stocks are Unifi, Inc. (NYSE:UFI), Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI), Motorcar Parts of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPAA), and NI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NODK). This group of stocks' market caps resemble KIN's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position UFI,11,69368,1 FRGI,18,94240,-2 MPAA,9,93844,-1 NODK,6,24094,-1 Average,11,70387,-0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $70 million. That figure was $120 million in KIN's case. Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand NI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NODK) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Kindred Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:KIN) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately KIN wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); KIN investors were disappointed as the stock returned -9.2% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Axos Financial, Inc. (AX) Most investors tend to think that hedge funds and other asset managers are worthless, as they cannot beat even simple index fund portfolios. In fact, most people expect hedge funds to compete with and outperform the bull market that we have witnessed in recent years. However, hedge funds are generally partially hedged and aim at delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns rather than following the ups and downs of equity markets hoping that they will outperform the broader market. Our research shows that certain hedge funds do have great stock picking skills (and we can identify these hedge funds in advance pretty accurately), so let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX). Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX)has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. Our calculations also showed that AX isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to take a look at the recent hedge fund action encompassing Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -13% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 10 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in AX a year ago. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database,Basswood Capital, managed by Matthew Lindenbaum, holds the most valuable position in Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX). Basswood Capital has a $13.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.9% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager isRoyce & Associates, led by Chuck Royce, holding a $12.8 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism encompass John Thiessen'sVertex One Asset Management, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawand John Osterweis'sOsterweis Capital Management. Due to the fact that Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's safe to say that there lies a certain "tier" of hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Managementdumped the largest position of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, worth about $5.1 million in stock. Jim Simons's fund,Renaissance Technologies, also sold off its stock, about $4.7 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds last quarter. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX). We will take a look at Summit Materials Inc (NYSE:SUM), SJW Corp. (NYSE:SJW), Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM), and Cannae Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNNE). All of these stocks' market caps are closest to AX's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SUM,22,480411,2 SJW,15,172638,-5 TSEM,12,258420,-4 CNNE,24,256097,1 Average,18.25,291892,-1.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 18.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $292 million. That figure was $61 million in AX's case. Cannae Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNNE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately AX wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); AX investors were disappointed as the stock returned -3% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Spider-Man director reacts to Gwyneth Paltrow forgetting she was in Homecoming It wasn’t just the internet that got a kick out of Gwyneth Paltrow forgetting she was in Spider-Man: Homecoming . The film’s director Jon Watts told EW at this week’s world premiere of Spider-Man: Far From Home (which he also directs), that he had no hard feelings over the hilarious clip, in which Paltrow absolutely refuses to accept her costar Jon Favreau ‘s assertions that they had a scene together in the Spidey film. “I totally get it. When we shot that scene it happened so quickly that I was not surprised that she just thought that was Avengers ,” Watts said, adding, “because she doesn’t really even see Tom Holland [Spider-Man] in the scene, he’s gone by the time she steps in. So she shows up and does the scene with Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr., she’s going to think that’s the Avengers .” “I thought it was so hilarious,” he added. The viral moment was captured as part of Favreau’s new Netflix cooking show with celeb chef Roy Choi, The Chef Show . Spider-Man: Far From Home — which follows Peter Parker as he battles new menaces on a school trip abroad — is the first Marvel movie to follow Avengers: Endgame , and is the last in the planned Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Watts said he felt pressure with Far From Home coming after that box office behemoth , but he said he channeled that into the movie. “I saw it as an opportunity. So many crazy things happened in Endgame and there’s so many unanswered questions,” he explained. “I thought this was an opportunity to not only answer those questions but to show the world what the MCU might look like moving forward.” Holland and Favreau reprise their roles in the film, which also stars Jake Gyllenhaal , Marisa Tomei , Zendaya , Samuel L. Jackson , Cobie Smulders , and Jacob Batalon. Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters July 2. Related content: Gwyneth Paltrow has no memory of being in Spider-Man: Homecoming Spider-Man: Far From Home is a worshipful, slippery ode to Iron Man What is love? Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal’s SNL homage at Spider-Man premiere View comments
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Acushnet Holdings Corp. (GOLF) Many investors, including Paul Tudor Jones or Stan Druckenmiller, have beensayingbefore the Q4 market crash that the stock market is overvalued due to a low interest rate environment that leads to companies swapping their equity for debt and focusing mostly on short-term performance such as beating the quarterly earnings estimates. In the first quarter, most investors recovered all of their Q4 losses as sentiment shifted and optimism dominated the US China trade negotiations. Nevertheless, many of the stocks that delivered strong returns in the first quarter still sport strong fundamentals and their gains were more related to the general market sentiment rather than their individual performance and hedge funds kept their bullish stance. In this article we will find out how hedge fund sentiment to Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) changed recently. Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF)has seen an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late.GOLFwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with GOLF positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that GOLF isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to take a glance at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 18% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 10 hedge funds with a bullish position in GOLF a year ago. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey,Sensato Capital Management, managed by Ernest Chow and Jonathan Howe, holds the number one position in Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF). Sensato Capital Management has a $9 million position in the stock, comprising 2.5% of its 13F portfolio. On Sensato Capital Management's heels is Israel Englander ofMillennium Management, with a $3.9 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other members of the smart money that hold long positions comprise Cliff Asness'sAQR Capital Management, Joel Greenblatt'sGotham Asset Managementand D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw. As one would reasonably expect, key money managers have jumped into Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) headfirst.Blue Mountain Capital, managed by Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow, initiated the largest position in Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF). Blue Mountain Capital had $0.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Groupalso made a $0.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new GOLF position is Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologies. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF). These stocks are NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH), Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR), Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. (NYSE:LBRT), and Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN). All of these stocks' market caps resemble GOLF's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position NMIH,15,229247,-1 ARWR,16,172031,3 LBRT,14,77200,2 EGBN,11,45405,-1 Average,14,130971,0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 14 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $131 million. That figure was $20 million in GOLF's case. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on GOLF as the stock returned 16.2% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (EGLE) Is Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) a good stock to buy right now? We at Insider Monkey like to examine what billionaires and hedge funds think of a company before doing days of research on it. Given their 2 and 20 payment structure, hedge funds have more incentives and resources than the average investor. The funds have access to expert networks and get tips from industry insiders. They also have numerous Ivy League graduates and MBAs. Like everyone else, hedge funds perform miserably at times, but their consensus picks have historically outperformed the market after risk adjustments. Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. At the end of this article we will also compare EGLE to other stocks including Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ:FARM), Summit Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMMF), and ChannelAdvisor Corp (NYSE:ECOM) to get a better sense of its popularity. So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio. Let's check out the new hedge fund action encompassing Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in EGLE over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions). More specifically,Oaktree Capital Managementwas the largest shareholder of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE), with a stake worth $122.1 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Oaktree Capital Management was GoldenTree Asset Management, which amassed a stake valued at $65.5 million. Royce & Associates, Renaissance Technologies, and Two Sigma Advisors were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Due to the fact that Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) has faced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's safe to say that there were a few funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. At the top of the heap, Daniel Gold'sQVT Financialdropped the biggest stake of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $0.5 million in stock. Jeffrey Talpins's fund,Element Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience). Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) but similarly valued. These stocks are Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ:FARM), Summit Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMMF), ChannelAdvisor Corp (NYSE:ECOM), and Exantas Capital Corp. (NYSE:XAN). This group of stocks' market caps resemble EGLE's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position FARM,7,56386,-2 SMMF,2,9075,0 ECOM,14,62386,3 XAN,17,61923,3 Average,10,47443,1 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 10 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $47 million. That figure was $205 million in EGLE's case. Exantas Capital Corp. (NYSE:XAN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Summit Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMMF) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on EGLE, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 4.7% during the same time frame and outperformed the market as well. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) The first quarter was a breeze as Powell pivoted, and China seemed eager to reach a deal with Trump. Both the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 delivered very strong gains as a result, with the Russell 2000, which is composed of smaller companies, outperforming the large-cap stocks slightly during the first quarter. Unfortunately sentiment shifted in May as this time China pivoted and Trump put more pressure on China by increasing tariffs. Hedge funds' top 20 stock picks performed spectacularly in this volatile environment. These stocks delivered a total gain of 18.7% through May 30th, vs. a gain of 12.1% for the S&P 500 ETF. In this article we will look at how this market volatility affected the sentiment of hedge funds towards AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), and what that likely means for the prospects of the company and its stock. AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently. Our calculations also showed that AVAV isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio. We're going to take a look at the latest hedge fund action encompassing AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV). At Q1's end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 44% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in AVAV over the last 15 quarters. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,Renaissance Technologiesheld the most valuable stake in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), which was worth $10.9 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Fisher Asset Management which amassed $9.2 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Citadel Investment Group, and Citadel Investment Group were also bullish on AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. As one would reasonably expect, key money managers were leading the bulls' herd.Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, assembled the most outsized position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV). Citadel Investment Group had $6.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partnersalso made a $0.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new AVAV positions are Minhua Zhang'sWeld Capital Management, Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt., and Dmitry Balyasny'sBalyasny Asset Management. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Shutterstock Inc (NYSE:SSTK), Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB), Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDRX), and Hostess Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWNK). This group of stocks' market values match AVAV's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SSTK,17,111417,1 ABCB,17,126038,-1 MDRX,21,200430,3 TWNK,24,132667,4 Average,19.75,142638,1.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 19.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $143 million. That figure was $41 million in AVAV's case. Hostess Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWNK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Shutterstock Inc (NYSE:SSTK) is the least popular one with only 17 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) is even less popular than SSTK. Hedge funds dodged a bullet by taking a bearish stance towards AVAV. Our calculations showed that the top 20 most popular hedge fund stocks returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately AVAV wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was very bearish); AVAV investors were disappointed as the stock returned -9.5% during the same time frame and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in the second quarter. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Did Hedge Funds Drop The Ball On Chimerix Inc (CMRX) ? Does Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX) represent a good buying opportunity at the moment? Let’s quickly check the hedge fund interest towards the company. Hedge fund firms constantly search out bright intellectuals and highly-experienced employees and throw away millions of dollars on satellite photos and other research activities, so it is no wonder why they tend to generate millions in profits each year. It is also true that some hedge fund players fail inconceivably on some occasions, but net net their stock picks have been generating superior risk-adjusted returns on average over the years. Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX)was in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. CMRX investors should pay attention to a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with CMRX holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that CMRX isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. [caption id="attachment_746893" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Paul Marshall of Marshall Wace[/caption] Let's take a glance at the recent hedge fund action regarding Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -9% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 11 hedge funds with a bullish position in CMRX a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions). Among these funds,Redmile Groupheld the most valuable stake in Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX), which was worth $7.4 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $2.8 million worth of shares. Moreover, Opaleye Management, GLG Partners, and D E Shaw were also bullish on Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Due to the fact that Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there were a few funds that slashed their full holdings in the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Steve Cohen'sPoint72 Asset Managementcut the largest position of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, totaling about $2.6 million in stock. Dennis Purcell's fund,Aisling Capital, also dumped its stock, about $1.2 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds in the third quarter. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX). We will take a look at Selecta Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SELB), CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE:CVM), Houston Wire & Cable Company (NASDAQ:HWCC), and Riverview Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:RIVE). This group of stocks' market values match CMRX's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SELB,8,18312,0 CVM,3,735,2 HWCC,6,16403,-1 RIVE,3,7952,1 Average,5,10851,0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $11 million. That figure was $17 million in CMRX's case. Selecta Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SELB) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE:CVM) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on CMRX as the stock returned 57.1% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were clearly right about piling into this stock relative to other stocks with similar market capitalizations. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (KRO) Before putting in our own effort and resources into finding a good investment, we can quickly utilize hedge fund expertise to give us a quick glimpse of whether that stock could make for a good addition to our portfolios. The odds are not exactly stacked in investors' favor when it comes to beating the market, as evidenced by the fact that less than 49% of the stocks in the S&P 500 did so during the second quarter. The stats were even worse in recent years when most of the advances in the market were due to large gains by FAANG stocks. However, one bright side for individual investors was the strong performance of hedge funds' top consensus picks. This year hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 6.6 percentage points through May 30th. Thus, we can see that the tireless research and efforts of hedge funds to identify winning stocks can work to our advantage when we know how to use the data. While not all of their picks will be winners, our odds are much better following their best stock picks than trying to go it alone. Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO)investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world's largest hedge funds of late.KROwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with KRO positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that KRO isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. To the average investor there are tons of gauges stock market investors put to use to assess publicly traded companies. Some of the most useful gauges are hedge fund and insider trading moves. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a solid amount (see the details here). We're going to take a peek at the key hedge fund action encompassing Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -7% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 16 hedge funds with a bullish position in KRO a year ago. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. More specifically,Renaissance Technologieswas the largest shareholder of Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO), with a stake worth $21.2 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Renaissance Technologies was Point72 Asset Management, which amassed a stake valued at $7.6 million. Arrowstreet Capital, Citadel Investment Group, and Millennium Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Because Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) has experienced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there lies a certain "tier" of funds that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. At the top of the heap, Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partnersdumped the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at about $1.9 million in stock. Brandon Haley's fund,Holocene Advisors, also dumped its stock, about $0.9 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds last quarter. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO). These stocks are IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG), Arco Platform Limited (NASDAQ:ARCE), Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI), and Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX). This group of stocks' market values are similar to KRO's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position IAG,13,148633,-1 ARCE,11,40688,1 BMI,14,117027,2 TROX,24,225222,-2 Average,15.5,132893,0 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 15.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $133 million. That figure was $44 million in KRO's case. Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Arco Platform Limited (NASDAQ:ARCE) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on KRO as the stock returned 8.5% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Daktronics, Inc. (DAKT) We know that hedge funds generate strong, risk-adjusted returns over the long run, therefore imitating the picks that they are collectively bullish on can be a profitable strategy for retail investors. With billions of dollars in assets, smart money investors have to conduct complex analyses, spend many resources and use tools that are not always available for the general crowd. This doesn't mean that they don't have occasional colossal losses; they do (like Peltz's recent General Electric losses). However, it is still a good idea to keep an eye on hedge fund activity. With this in mind, as the current round of 13F filings has just ended, let’s examine the smart money sentiment towards Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT). IsDaktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT)a buy right now? Money managers are becoming less confident. The number of long hedge fund positions shrunk by 1 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that dakt isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. To most stock holders, hedge funds are assumed to be underperforming, outdated financial tools of the past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at the moment, Our experts look at the leaders of this club, about 750 funds. These investment experts direct the majority of the hedge fund industry's total asset base, and by tracking their inimitable equity investments, Insider Monkey has formulated a number of investment strategies that have historically defeated the market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points per annum since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). Let's take a gander at the fresh hedge fund action surrounding Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -9% from the fourth quarter of 2018. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards DAKT over the last 15 quarters. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) was held byRenaissance Technologies, which reported holding $7 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by D E Shaw with a $3.1 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Arrowstreet Capital, Two Sigma Advisors, and GAMCO Investors. Seeing as Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) has faced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there lies a certain "tier" of hedge funds that slashed their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that Chuck Royce'sRoyce & Associatesdropped the largest stake of all the hedgies watched by Insider Monkey, totaling about $0.8 million in stock, and Israel Englander's Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $0.3 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT). These stocks are BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS), RR Donnelley & Sons Company (NYSE:RRD), MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG), and Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADVM). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to DAKT's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position BLFS,15,83044,3 RRD,14,21806,-3 MOFG,6,19475,2 ADVM,12,52296,-5 Average,11.75,44155,-0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 11.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $44 million. That figure was $15 million in DAKT's case. BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOFG) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately DAKT wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); DAKT investors were disappointed as the stock returned -16.5% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Reese Witherspoon, Denzel Washington, Chris Pine and More Arrive in Paris Ahead of Zoe Kravitz's Wedding: Pics Zoe Kravitz and Karl Glusman are reportedly having a wedding ceremony this weekend in Paris, France, and it's shaping up to be a star-studded affair. According to multiple reports last month, the two already tied the knot in a civil ceremony but were still planning to celebrate with a larger ceremony with more friends and family present. On Friday, the couple and their A-list pals were snapped arriving at Restaurant Lapérouse in Paris, the site of the couple's rehearsal dinner. Zoe looked gorgeous in a white bra top and biker shorts under a sleeveless pearl crochet overlay, custom designed by Danielle Frankel, holding hands with Karl, who looked dapper in a blue suit. Marc Piasecki/GC Images Zoe's famous parents -- Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz -- were also spotted heading into the restaurant, as well as Bonet's husband, Jason Momoa, and their two children, Lola and Nakoa-Wolf. Pierre Suu/GC Images Pierre Suu/GC Images Zoe's Big Little Lies co-stars were in attendance, including Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley. In April, Nicole Kidman told Vanity Fair that all the main ladies of the HBO hit were planning on attending her wedding. Pierre Suu/GC Images Pierre Suu/GC Images Pierre Suu/GC Images More A-list guests included Chris Pine -- who was once rumored to have dated Zoe -- and his girlfriend, Annabelle Wallis; Denzel Washington and his wife, Pauletta; and model Cara Delevingne and her girlfriend, former Pretty Little Liars star Ashley Benson. Pierre Suu/GC Images Pierre Suu/GC Images Pierre Suu/GC Images Co-owner of Restaurant Lapérouse, Grérgory Lentz, told ET that Zoe and Karl were in great spirits at Friday's rehearsal dinner. "It was a great night," Lentz said. "There was a special cake with 'Zoe & Karl' written on it. The couple looked in love and were really friendly!" Lenny, who has a home in Paris, had been to Restaurant Lapérouse before Zoe chose it as the site for her rehearsal dinner. The bride came for the first time a week before the dinner, and decided it was the perfect spot for her special day, ET has learned. According to Lentz, the couple and their guests partied until roughly 2 a.m. on Saturday -- and Denzel was one of the last to leave. Story continues Zoe, 30, and Karl, 31, have been dating since 2016. Zoe revealed her engagement last October in an interview with Rolling Stone and said her longtime love actually popped the question last February. "He nailed it," she also said of the Nocturnal Animals star's proposal, which included lighting candles and playing Nina Simone music in their living room. "And I love that it wasn't this elaborate plan in Paris. It was at home, in sweatpants." "I can be my weirdest self around him," she added. "It's so relaxing to be around someone where you can be a hundred percent how you feel." ET last spoke with Zoe at the Big Little Lies season two premiere in New York City, where she joked that it's a love of wine that bonds the superstar cast together. Watch the video below for more: RELATED CONTENT: Zoë Kravitz Reveals She Developed an Eating Disorder at 13 Lenny & Zoe Kravitz Explore Their Family's Roots in Heartwarming Father-Daughter Short Film – Watch Lenny Kravitz Reacts to Daughter Zoe Working With His Ex-Fiancee Nicole Kidman Related Articles: Hollywood Bikini Bods Over 40 Biggest Celebrity Breakups of 2019 -- So Far! Celebrities in Their Underwear
These Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches are Ina Garten-Approved Click here to read the full article. When the Barefoot Contessa herself, Ina Garten , gets excited about a recipe, we get excited about a recipe ⁠— because when’s the last time Garten has ever let us down? (That’s a rhetorical question; don’t answer.) And the latest recipe that has us drooling is the sheet pan chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich dessert Garten just raved about on her Instagram. Garten pulled the recipe from LideyLikes , a food blog run by Lidey Heuck, Garten’s former assistant of six years. A jack of all trades, Heuck not only managed Garten’s social media platforms, but she also tested recipes and even worked closely with Garten’s publisher and Barefoot Contessa production team. You may have even seen Heuck’s own recipes on Barefoot Contessa and published in various publications, including the New York Times, Food Network Magazine and TheKitchn.com. Related stories The Aperol Spritz Is Here to Stay ⁠-- Throughout the Summer, At Least Thanks to Nestlé Toll House, You Can Now Eat Cookie Dough Totally Worry-Free 11 Ina Garten Dishes We'll Be Making All Summer “She’s become quite a cook!” Garten wrote in her Instagram post. “This week she posted the recipe for her amazing ice cream sandwiches. She baked chocolate chip cookie dough in sheet pans for the outside of the sandwiches, then filled them with vanilla ice cream and rolled them in chocolate chips and sprinkles. I’m definitely making these for July 4th!!” View this post on Instagram Lidey Heuck has worked with me for more than 6 years and she’s become quite a cook! She has a wonderful blog called LideyLikes, and this week she posted the recipe for her amazing ice cream sandwiches. She baked chocolate chip cookie dough in sheet pans for the outside of the sandwiches, then filled them with vanilla ice cream and rolled them in chocolate chips and sprinkles. I’m definitely making these for July 4th!! You can get the recipe @lideylikes on Instagram! A post shared by Ina Garten (@inagarten) on Jun 27, 2019 at 9:51am PDT Heuck writes on her blog that these ice cream sandwiches are one of her favorite desserts to make over the summer for her friends. Plus, she reveals, you can make them days in advance. Story continues “Everyone completely loses their minds when you bring out a platter of giant ice cream sandwiches after dinner,” she says on LideyLikes. “I’m all for blueberry crumble or peach pie, but there is no greater crowd pleaser than ice cream sandwiches.” Amen. Heuck’s recipe calls for the usual chocolate chip cookie ingredients ⁠— unsalted butter, granulated and brown sugar, vanilla extract, chocolate chips, etc. ⁠— and the directions are easy to follow. Basically, and as Garten described, Heuck bakes two massive chocolate chip cookies in a long sheet pan and sandwiches a layer of softened, store-brand vanilla ice cream between the two cookies. Let the giant sandwich freeze for a few hours, or overnight, then cut it into 12 smaller sandwiches. Here comes the fun part: Once chilled, press each side of the sandwiches onto the mini chocolate chips and sprinkles. Clearly Garten’s BFF Jennifer Garner is a fan of this dessert, too, commenting on Garten’s Instagram post: “We ♥️ @lideylikes !!!” That’s it; we need to get out of here and buy all the ingredients stat. Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
5 Stocks Warren Buffett and Ray Dalio Both Own The two titans agree primarily on financials
USWNT overcome World Cup hosts France, but the real test lays ahead against England The US Women’s team passed their toughest World Cup test with flying colors: a hard-fought 2-1 win over hosts France sees Jill Ellis’ side through to the final four of the tournament. The US have never failed to reach the World Cup semifinals and they’re in the final four with a confident victory over co-tournament-favorites France. They looked more assured in defence, and typically frantic in attack in Friday’s win. They needed less than 5 minutes to get on the scoresheet, when Megan Rapinoe’s low free kick sailed straight through traffic. Rapinoe made some newsworthy comments before the tournament started, and a slightly underreported one is when she said: “We take set pieces very seriously.” After this goal, and all the corner kick goals we’ve seen so far, this is certainly true. The goal was the first time France had trailed at the tournament and it meant the US have scored within the first 12 minutes of all 5 of their World Cup matches. The French looked better as the game continued on and dominated possession, but ultimately they failed to get into top gear. In the 65th minute it was Rapinoe once again who sealed the deal when she met a Tobin Heath cross for her 4th World Cup goal. The US were assured in defense and showed excellent resolve and game management to withstand a late barrage from the hosts. A well-taken 80th-minute consolation header from Wendie Renard—and plenty of late French pressure—weren’t enough to change the outcome. Many speculated that the winner of this quarterfinal would win the entire tournament, and this was the toughest test the USWNT have faced so far. But they will have an even tougher test in the semifinal on Tuesday in Lyon… against England. Phil Neville’s side have won every match in France, they’re scoring freely, they have clean sheets in all but the opener, they have a fantastic spine made up of Manchester City players, and they’re improving with every game. The Lionesses are real contenders, and are highly motivated to avoid a third successive World Cup semifinal exit. The English can cause the US plenty of problems, and the match in Lyon has all the ingredients of a highly entertaining affair.
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On VAALCO Energy, Inc. (EGY) Is VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) a good bet right now? We like to analyze hedge fund sentiment before doing days of in-depth research. We do so because hedge funds and other elite investors have numerous Ivy League graduates, expert network advisers, and supply chain tipsters working or consulting for them. There is not a shortage of news stories covering failed hedge fund investments and it is a fact that hedge funds' picks don't beat the market 100% of the time, but their consensus picks have historically done very well and have outperformed the market after adjusting for risk. IsVAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)a buy here? Prominent investors are turning bullish. The number of long hedge fund bets increased by 2 lately. Our calculations also showed that EGY isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. According to most stock holders, hedge funds are perceived as underperforming, old financial tools of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds trading at the moment, We hone in on the crème de la crème of this group, around 750 funds. These investment experts handle bulk of all hedge funds' total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their top stock picks, Insider Monkey has determined many investment strategies that have historically outpaced the market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). Let's go over the key hedge fund action regarding VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 25% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards EGY over the last 15 quarters. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,Renaissance Technologiesheld the most valuable stake in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY), which was worth $7.2 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Fondren Management which amassed $5.5 million worth of shares. Moreover, Ancora Advisors, Arrowstreet Capital, and ExodusPoint Capital were also bullish on VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. As industrywide interest jumped, some big names have jumped into VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) headfirst.ExodusPoint Capital, managed by Michael Gelband, initiated the largest position in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY). ExodusPoint Capital had $0.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt.also made a $0.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new EGY positions are Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Managementand Chuck Royce'sRoyce & Associates. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) but similarly valued. These stocks are CSI Compressco LP (NASDAQ:CCLP), Surface Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:SURF), Fonar Corporation (NASDAQ:FONR), and Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLUB). This group of stocks' market valuations match EGY's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CCLP,6,2657,2 SURF,7,17598,1 FONR,6,14036,-1 CLUB,11,65983,0 Average,7.5,25069,0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 7.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $25 million. That figure was $16 million in EGY's case. Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLUB) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand CSI Compressco LP (NASDAQ:CCLP) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately EGY wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on EGY were disappointed as the stock returned -32.1% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Solid Biosciences Inc. (SLDB) Hedge funds and other investment firms that we track manage billions of dollars of their wealthy clients' money, and needless to say, they are painstakingly thorough when analyzing where to invest this money, as their own wealth also depends on it. Regardless of the various methods used by elite investors like David Tepper and David Abrams, the resources they expend are second-to-none. This is especially valuable when it comes to small-cap stocks, which is where they generate their strongest outperformance, as their resources give them a huge edge when it comes to studying these stocks compared to the average investor, which is why we intently follow their activity in the small-cap space. Solid Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDB)has experienced a decrease in activity from the world's largest hedge funds in recent months. Our calculations also showed that SLDB isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. We're going to review the fresh hedge fund action regarding Solid Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDB). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -9% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 18 hedge funds with a bullish position in SLDB a year ago. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions). The largest stake in Solid Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDB) was held byPerceptive Advisors, which reported holding $36.1 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by RA Capital Management with a $24.7 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Citadel Investment Group, Cormorant Asset Management, and Millennium Management. Because Solid Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDB) has faced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's easy to see that there exists a select few money managers who sold off their entire stakes in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Christopher James'sPartner Fund Managementsaid goodbye to the largest stake of the "upper crust" of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, valued at about $35.8 million in stock, and Oleg Nodelman's EcoR1 Capital was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $23.2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds in the third quarter. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Solid Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDB) but similarly valued. These stocks are Rockwell Medical Inc (NASDAQ:RMTI), Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ), Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT), and BSB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:BLMT). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to SLDB's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position RMTI,3,2056,1 TMQ,13,120065,1 CAMT,10,23041,0 BLMT,7,28681,1 Average,8.25,43461,0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 8.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $43 million. That figure was $73 million in SLDB's case. Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Rockwell Medical Inc (NASDAQ:RMTI) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Solid Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDB) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately SLDB wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on SLDB were disappointed as the stock returned -43.6% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On Camtek LTD. (CAMT) It seems that the masses and most of the financial media hate hedge funds and what they do, but why is this hatred of hedge funds so prominent? At the end of the day, these asset management firms do not gamble the hard-earned money of the people who are on the edge of poverty. Truth be told, most hedge fund managers and other smaller players within this industry are very smart and skilled investors. Of course, they may also make wrong bets in some instances, but no one knows what the future holds and how market participants will react to the bountiful news that floods in each day. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index returned approximately 12.1% in the first 5 months of this year (through May 30th). Conversely, hedge funds’ top 20 large-cap stock picks generated a return of 18.7% during the same 5-month period, with the majority of these stock picks outperforming the broader market benchmark. Coincidence? It might happen to be so, but it is unlikely. Our research covering the last 18 years indicates that hedge funds' stock picks generate superior risk-adjusted returns. That's why we believe it isn't a waste of time to check out hedge fund sentiment before you invest in a stock like Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT). Hedge fund interest inCamtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT)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 BSB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:BLMT), Standard Diversified Inc. (NYSE:SDI), and Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (NYSE:ORC) to gather more data points. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. Let's take a peek at the recent hedge fund action regarding Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 4 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in CAMT a year ago. With hedgies' sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions). More specifically,Renaissance Technologieswas the largest shareholder of Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT), with a stake worth $16.3 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Renaissance Technologies was Millennium Management, which amassed a stake valued at $2.3 million. Two Sigma Advisors, Navellier & Associates, and D E Shaw were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Judging by the fact that Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT) has experienced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's safe to say that there were a few hedge funds that slashed their positions entirely in the third quarter. Interestingly, Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Groupsaid goodbye to the biggest investment of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, comprising about $0.3 million in stock, and Matthew Hulsizer's PEAK6 Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.1 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience). Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT) but similarly valued. These stocks are BSB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:BLMT), Standard Diversified Inc. (NYSE:SDI), Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (NYSE:ORC), and Select Interior Concepts, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIC). This group of stocks' market values resemble CAMT's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position BLMT,7,28681,1 SDI,3,6001,0 ORC,3,7254,-3 SIC,6,36399,-1 Average,4.75,19584,-0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 4.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $20 million. That figure was $23 million in CAMT's case. BSB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:BLMT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Standard Diversified Inc. (NYSE:SDI) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately CAMT wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on CAMT were disappointed as the stock returned -3.6% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Park Electrochemical Corp. (PKE) Before we spend days researching a stock idea we like to take a look at how hedge funds and billionaire investors recently traded that stock. The S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY) lost 2.6% in the first two months of the second quarter. Ten out of 11 industry groups in the S&P 500 Index lost value in May. The average return of a randomly picked stock in the index was even worse (-3.6%). This means you (or a monkey throwing a dart) have less than an even chance of beating the market by randomly picking a stock. On the other hand, the top 20 most popular S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds not only generated positive returns but also outperformed the index by about 3 percentage points through May 30th. In this article, we will take a look at what hedge funds think about Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE). Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE)shareholders have witnessed an increase in support from the world's most elite money managers in recent months. Our calculations also showed that PKE isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Let's take a look at the latest hedge fund action surrounding Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 11% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards PKE over the last 15 quarters. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. More specifically,Raging Capital Managementwas the largest shareholder of Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE), with a stake worth $27.8 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Raging Capital Management was Renaissance Technologies, which amassed a stake valued at $24.3 million. GAMCO Investors, Millennium Management, and Winton Capital Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Now, some big names have been driving this bullishness.Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the most outsized position in Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE). Millennium Management had $2.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Harding'sWinton Capital Managementalso made a $1.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new PKE positions are Cliff Asness'sAQR Capital Managementand Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle'sSpringbok Capital. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE) but similarly valued. These stocks are Aduro BioTech Inc (NASDAQ:ADRO), North American Energy Partners Inc. (NYSE:NOA), The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI), and NN, Inc. (NASDAQ:NNBR). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to PKE's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ADRO,12,22456,5 NOA,8,51097,0 RUBI,25,61783,3 NNBR,8,46546,0 Average,13.25,45471,2 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $45 million. That figure was $72 million in PKE's case. The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand North American Energy Partners Inc. (NYSE:NOA) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE) 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. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately PKE wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); PKE investors were disappointed as the stock returned 3.7% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Is Viad Corp (VVI) A Good Stock To Buy? The Insider Monkey team has completed processing the quarterly 13F filings for the March quarter submitted by the hedge funds and other money managers included in our extensive database. Most hedge fund investors experienced strong gains on the back of a strong market performance, which certainly propelled them to adjust their equity holdings so as to maintain the 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 Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI). IsViad Corp (NYSE:VVI)a marvelous stock to buy now? The smart money is getting less bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund positions shrunk by 2 lately. Our calculations also showed that VVI isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.VVIwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with VVI holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. We're going to take a look at the latest hedge fund action regarding Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI). At Q1's end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -13% from the fourth quarter of 2018. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in VVI over the last 15 quarters. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. The largest stake in Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) was held byMoab Capital Partners, which reported holding $82.1 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by GMT Capital with a $39 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Third Avenue Management, Manatuck Hill Partners, and Cannell Capital. Due to the fact that Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) has witnessed declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there lies a certain "tier" of hedgies that decided to sell off their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. Intriguingly, Chuck Royce'sRoyce & Associatessold off the biggest position of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, valued at about $3.3 million in stock, and Matthew Hulsizer's PEAK6 Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI). These stocks are At Home Group Inc. (NYSE:HOME), Bitauto Hldg Ltd (NYSE:BITA), PPDAI Group Inc. (NYSE:PPDF), and Denny's Corporation (NASDAQ:DENN). This group of stocks' market values are similar to VVI's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position HOME,32,247769,8 BITA,7,11115,0 PPDF,12,8046,6 DENN,19,171859,0 Average,17.5,109697,3.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 17.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $110 million. That figure was $146 million in VVI's case. At Home Group Inc. (NYSE:HOME) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Bitauto Hldg Ltd (NYSE:BITA) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on VVI as the stock returned 19.1% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Avanos Medical, Inc. (AVNS) Although the masses and most of the financial media blame hedge funds for their exorbitant fee structure and disappointing performance, these investors have proved to have great stock picking abilities over the years (that's why their assets under management continue to swell). We believe hedge fund sentiment should serve as a crucial tool of an individual investor’s stock selection process, as it may offer great insights of how the brightest minds of the finance industry feel about specific stocks. After all, these people have access to smartest analysts and expensive data/information sources that individual investors can't match. So should one consider investing in Avanos Medical (NYSE:AVNS)? The smart money sentiment can provide an answer to this question. IsAvanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS)a good stock to buy now? Hedge funds are taking a bearish view. The number of long hedge fund bets retreated by 3 lately. Our calculations also showed that avns isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. If you'd ask most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, old investment tools of years past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation today, Our experts choose to focus on the aristocrats of this group, approximately 750 funds. These money managers administer most of the hedge fund industry's total asset base, and by keeping track of their inimitable investments, Insider Monkey has formulated a number of investment strategies that have historically outrun the broader indices. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). We're going to review the new hedge fund action regarding Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS). At Q1's end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -21% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards AVNS over the last 15 quarters. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. More specifically,D E Shawwas the largest shareholder of Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS), with a stake worth $16.5 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing D E Shaw was Millennium Management, which amassed a stake valued at $10.4 million. Millennium Management, Pura Vida Investments, and Two Sigma Advisors were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Because Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS) has experienced declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it's safe to say that there exists a select few hedgies that slashed their positions entirely heading into Q3. Interestingly, Steve Cohen'sPoint72 Asset Managementdropped the largest investment of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, valued at about $3.3 million in call options. Matthew Hulsizer's fund,PEAK6 Capital Management, also dropped its call options, about $1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 3 funds heading into Q3. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS). These stocks are BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST), Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT), Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI), and Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR). This group of stocks' market valuations match AVNS's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position BEST,16,62721,7 FCPT,13,92837,0 POWI,6,79088,2 IVR,15,94994,2 Average,12.5,82410,2.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 12.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $82 million. That figure was $41 million in AVNS's case. BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on AVNS, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 4.7% during the same time frame and outperformed the market as well. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index

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