Alphabet Inc (GOOGL): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

How do we determine whether Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) makes for a good investment at the moment? We analyze the sentiment of a select group of the very best investors in the world, who spend immense amounts of time and resources studying companies. They may not always be right (no one is), but data shows that their consensus long positions have historically outperformed the market when we adjust for known risk factors.

Is Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) a healthy stock for your portfolio? Investors, who are in the know, are becoming more confident. The number of bullish hedge fund bets has advanced by 14 recently.

Google GOOG

To most market participants, hedge funds are seen as underperforming, outdated investment tools of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, Experts at Insider Monkey, a website specializing in hedge funds, choose to focus on the elite of this group, around 700 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors manages the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by watching their inimitable stock picks, Insider Monkey has figured out various investment strategies that have historically exceeded the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in their back tests.

Now, we’re going to go over the new action regarding Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL).

How are hedge funds trading Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 129 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 12% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

According to hedge fund experts at Insider Monkey, Viking Global, managed by Andreas Halvorsen, holds the number one position in Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Viking Global has a $1.62 billion position in the stock, comprising 6.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish hedge fund manager is Fisher Asset Management, led by Ken Fisher, holding a $584.2 million position; 1.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that are bullish contain Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Consequently, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Senator Investment Group, managed by Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin, assembled the most outsized position in Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Senator Investment Group had 304.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Griffin’s Blue Ridge Capital also initiated a $159.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Eric Chen’s Antipodean Advisors, Clifford Fox’s Columbus Circle Investors, and Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). These stocks are Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B), and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). This group of stocks’ market caps match GOOGL’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x$1000) Change in HF Position
MSFT 113 19313046 6
BRK-B 69 19441856 -2
XOM 61 3188317 -6

So, as you can see, hedge funds are becoming more and more confident about Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Our smart money sentiment metric confirms that Alphabet may be the right stock to buy right now, which is why it deserves your attention.

Disclosure: none