Billionaires Are Betting on These Five Under-$10 Stocks

#2. ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV)

– Billionaires With Long Positions (as of June 30): 7

– Aggregate Value of Billionaires’ Holdings (as of June 30): $252.09 Million

ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) received more attention from the billionaire hedge fund managers tracked by Insider Monkey during the three months ended June 30, as the number of billionaires invested in Ensco spiked to seven from four quarter-over-quarter. Correspondingly, the overall value of those billionaires’ stakes in Ensco rose to $252.09 million from a mere $93.26 million recorded at the end of the first quarter, even though the company’s shares lost 6% in the June quarter. The provider of offshore contract drilling services has seen its market cap plunge by 52% since the start of the year. Ensco owns and operates an offshore drilling rig fleet consisting of 57 rigs, as well as having four additional rigs under construction. The company reported revenue of $910 million for the second quarter, down from $1.06 billion posted a year earlier. The decrease primarily reflects a decline in reported utilization to 61% from 76% recorded in the second quarter of 2015. Adage Capital Management, founded by Phillip Gross and Robert Atchinson, owns 4.62 million shares of ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) as of June 30.

#1. MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG)

– Billionaires With Long Positions (as of June 30): 9

– Aggregate Value of Billionaires’ Holdings (as of June 30): $332.12 Million

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) was the most popular under $10-stock among the billionaire money managers followed by our team at the end of the June quarter. The number of billionaires with equity stakes in MGIC Investment rose to nine from five during the quarter, whereas the overall value of those stakes fell by 14% quarter-over-quarter to $332.12 million. The 14% decrease was due to a 22% fall in the value of MGIC’s shares in the second quarter, though they’ve since rebounded to have gain 26% in the past three months. MGIC Investment, the nation’s oldest insurer, appears to be well-positioned to benefit from “a supercycle for mortgage credit that seems unlikely to be derailed by a recession,” according to a Barclays analyst. Kerr Neilson’s Platinum Asset Management has 10.10 million shares of MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) among its holdings as of the end of the second quarter.

Disclosure: None