Is Carnival Corporation (CCL) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

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Most Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) investors haven’t seen this data yet.

In the financial world, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to monitor the equity markets. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outpace the market by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as useful, positive insider trading activity is another way to analyze the world of equities. There are many incentives for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).

What’s more, let’s discuss the recent info surrounding Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL).

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)

What does the smart money think about Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)?

Heading into Q3, a total of 31 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -14% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, Kerr Neilson’s Platinum Asset Management had the most valuable position in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL), worth close to $176.6 million, comprising 3.4% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Edinburgh Partners, managed by Sandy Nairn, which held a $168.8 million position; the fund has 10.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management LP, Robert Bishop’s Impala Asset Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Judging by the fact that Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) has experienced a fall in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there is a sect of hedge funds who were dropping their positions entirely at the end of the second quarter. At the top of the heap, James Dinan’s York Capital Management said goodbye to the biggest investment of all the hedgies we track, worth an estimated $65 million in stock. Shane Finemore’s fund, Manikay Partners, also said goodbye to its stock, about $14.4 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 5 funds at the end of the second quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL). These stocks are MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL), Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ:MPEL), and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS). This group of stocks are in the resorts & casinos industry and their market caps resemble CCL’s market cap.

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