Is Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) 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 find the latest market-moving information.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was in 29 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. LVS shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with LVS holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare LVS to other stocks including Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW), and Liberty Global PLC LiLAC Class C (NASDAQ:LILAK) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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Today there are plenty of formulas stock traders put to use to evaluate publicly traded companies. A couple of the most underrated formulas are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see the details here).
Now, let’s take a peek at the new action regarding Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS).
What have hedge funds been doing with Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)?
At the Q3’s end, a total of 29 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 53% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management has the biggest call position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), worth close to $48.7 million, amounting to 0.3% of its total 13F portfolio. On PEAK6 Capital Management’s heels is Murray Stahl of Horizon Asset Management, with a $24.2 million position; the fund has 0.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money that hold long positions comprise Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Now, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Laurion Capital Management, managed by Benjamin A. Smith, assembled the most valuable position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS). Laurion Capital Management had $7.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Boyd’s Armistice Capital also initiated a $7.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new LVS positions are Peter Muller’s PDT Partners, Paul Orlin and Alex Porter’s Amici Capital, and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) but similarly valued. These stocks are Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW), Liberty Global PLC LiLAC Class C (NASDAQ:LILAK), and Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to LVS’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| HAL | 59 | 3773834 | -10 |
| ITW | 31 | 934514 | -7 |
| LILAK | 40 | 406793 | 40 |
| VLO | 56 | 1842981 | 8 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 47 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.74 billion. That figure was $261 million in LVS’s case. Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) is the least popular one with only 31 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) is even less popular than ITW. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies mentioned in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.
