EMC Corporation (EMC): Smart Money is Confident Ahead of Dell Merger

Paul Singer’s Elliott Management, which owns 42.23 million shares of EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) as of the end of December 2015, saluted the multi-billion-dollar merger, saying that “this landmark transaction will create a powerhouse with leading franchises across enterprise IT”. On the other hand, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital closed out its position in EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) during the second quarter of 2015, as it revealed in a second-quarter letter to investors. The billionaire investor wrote in the letter that “We exited our long position in EMC Corp. with a small profit given the reduced odds of any favorable change to the corporate structure and increasing concerns about a lack of growth in the storage business.”

What have hedge funds been doing with EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC)?

Heading into 2016, a total of 77 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a gain of 18% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully (or had already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Mr. Singer’s Elliott Management has the largest position in EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), worth close to $1.08 billion, amounting to 13.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Elliott Management’s heels is Seth Klarman of Baupost Group, with a $751.1 million position; 13.6% of his 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining professional money managers that hold long positions consist of Nick Niell’s Arrowgrass Capital Partners, Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management, and Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital.

As one would reasonably expect, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Baupost Group, managed by Seth Klarman, assembled the biggest position in EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC). Baupost Group had $751.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Nick Niell’s Arrowgrass Capital Partners also initiated a $516.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new EMC positions are Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management, Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital, and Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital.

On the final page, we’ll compare EMC’s popularity to stocks with a similar market cap.