Steve Cohen Reports Large Position In InterOil Corporation (USA) (IOC)

Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management has filed a schedule 13G reporting a 6.3% ownership stake in InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC). According to the filing, the investment manager owns 3.10 million shares of the oil company and this position indicates its confidence in the company. The share purchases were distributed among Point 72 Asset Management and its subsidiary Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC, which reported holding 42,028 shares.

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Cohen converted his fund S.A.C Capital Advisors into the family office Point72 Asset Management last year, after initially founding S.A.C in 1992. According to its latest 13F filing, Point72 Asset Management holds a diversified portfolio, with the consumer discretionary and energy sectors comprising 17% of its overall portfolio as of the end of the first quarter, respectively. The fund manager reported a public equity portfolio of $14.67 billion at the end of the first quarter, with its top three equity investments being in Visteon Corp (NYSE:VC), EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT), and Suncor Energy Inc. (USA) (NYSE:SU). The investment manager accepts investments from family clients only, primarily because of the prohibition imposed by the Department of Justice from accepting outside investors.

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Point72 Asset Management cites investment as its primary goal behind this purchase and further, a 13G signifies an ownership of 5% to 20%, without the permission of any activism activities. Earlier in July, Steve Cohen reported an increase in its position in Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) to 4.94 million shares, giving him ownership of 6.4% of the total outstanding common shares of the company.

InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC) is an oil and gas exploration company with a market cap of $2.12 billion. The company announced LNG project sites for its Elk-Antelope joint venture in Papua New Guinea. The project will be known as Papua LNG and two other partners in the project include Total SA (ADR) (NYSE:TOT) and Oil Search Limited (ADR) (OTCMKTS:OISHY). Total SA is responsible for the operation of the project, while the three partners will take a final investment decision over the project in 2017. InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC) announced its first quarter fiscal 2015 financial results on May 12, reporting a net loss of $21.87 million for the quarter against net profit of $318.63 million in the year-ago quarter. The oil company reported revenues of $13.22 million for the quarter, with diluted loss per share of $0.44.

It has been a struggle this year for InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC), much like other energy companies, with its shares declining by 11.11% year-to-date. Smart money maintained a bearish outlook on the company during the first quarter. Out of the 731 actively reporting funds tracked by Insider Monkey, only 13 hedge fund managers had invested in the energy firm, with aggregate investments of $99.57 million. The number of hedge fund investors declined by three during the first quarter compared to three months earlier, while holdings fell from $134.29 million.

Apart from Point72 Asset Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management had a position worth $28.13 million in the company at the end of the first quarter, owning 609,574 shares. GMT Capital, led by Thomas E. Claugus, was another major investor of the company, holding 448,199 shares in its portfolio, with a market value of $20.68 million.

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