5 Stocks Hedge Funds Dumped The Most: Guess How They Performed

3. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD)

– Number of hedge funds with bullish LinkedIn positions at the end of Q1: 60

– Number of hedge funds with bullish LinkedIn positions at the end of Q2: 42

– Return since June 30th: -3.0%

LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) has been the best performing stock since June 30 among the five featured in this article, though it has nonetheless registered a loss during that time. The professional networking site lost a lot of support in the second quarter after it lowered its guidance for the remainder of the year when announcing its first quarter results on May 1. Namely, earnings guidance was set at a paltry adjusted EPS of $1.90, while the market had been anticipating earnings of $3.03 for the year. It’s easy to see why elite investors headed for the exits. While LinkedIn is continuing to grow revenue at a solid pace, expenses are growing in lock-step with that revenue growth, pinching any growth potential in earnings. The company is free-cash-flow negative in the amount of $180 million over the trailing 12 months, and has a 12-month forward P/E of just under 60.

While masterful investors Steve Cohen and George Soros both maintained prominent positions in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), they were two of the investors to close their LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) positions during the second quarter. Cohen’s former position had been 193,100 shares-strong, while Soros’ LinkedIn holding had consisted of 13,000 shares.

While still a popular stock among the investors we follow, there was a noticeable decline in sentiment for this chipmaker they abandoned during the second quarter. See which one it was on the next page.