Should You Avoid TiVo Inc. (TIVO)?

Because TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) has witnessed a drop in interest from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of funds who sold off their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management dropped the largest position of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $3.4 million in stock, and Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.6 million worth of shares. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) but similarly valued. We will take a look at BNC Bancorp (NASDAQ:BNCN), Civitas Solutions Inc (NYSE:CIVI), E-House (China) Holdings Limited (ADR) (NYSE:EJ), and Terreno Realty Corporation (NYSE:TRNO). This group of stocks’ market valuations match TIVO’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $46 million, above the $98 million in TIVO’s case. E-House (China) Holdings Limited (ADR) (NYSE:EJ) is the most popular stock in this table, as 15 funds hold long positions in the company. On the other hand, Civitas Solutions Inc (NYSE:CIVI) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks, TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.