Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) is one of the biggest plays in the casino space. So how are its richest investors placing their bets?
In the eyes of many market players, hedge funds are perceived as useless, outdated financial vehicles of a forgotten age. Although there are over 8,000 hedge funds with their doors open in present day, Insider Monkey looks at the crème de la crème of this group, close to 525 funds. It is widely held that this group controls the majority of the smart money’s total capital, and by keeping an eye on their best equity investments, we’ve spotted a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find the details here).
Equally as crucial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to look at the stock market universe. There are lots of motivations for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
Thus, we’re going to study the latest info surrounding Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS).
How are hedge funds trading Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 55 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management had the biggest position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), worth close to $419.4 million, comprising 4.5% of its total 13F portfolio. On Discovery Capital Management’s heels is JAT Capital Management, managed by John Thaler, which held a $120.7 million position; the fund has 4.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.
Consequently, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Discovery Capital Management, managed by Rob Citrone, initiated the most outsized position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS). Discovery Capital Management had 419.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Thaler’s JAT Capital Management also made a $120.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.
Insider trading activity in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)
Insider buying made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS). 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 Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL). All of these stocks are in the resorts & casinos industry and their market caps match LVS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) | 37 | 0 | 5 |
| Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) | 29 | 1 | 10 |
| Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) | 37 | 0 | 6 |
| Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ:MPEL) | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) | 31 | 1 | 4 |
Using the results explained by our analyses, regular investors must always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
