2. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 46
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $1.57 Billion
Even before it was inducted into the S&P 500 last week, Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) saw its popularity among hedge funds soar. The number of hedge funds that were long in the stock went up by five, and the aggregate value of hedge funds’ holdings saw a 53.47% jump during the April – June period. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)’s shares have seen a gradual uptrend since the beginning of the year, which has persisted until the present day, as the company trades near its all-time high. However, only 6.5% of its 41.5% year-to-date gains were registered during the second quarter, with the spectacular second quarter results the company declared on August 4 having made a big contribution to those year-to-date gains. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) declared EPS of $0.13 on revenue of $759 million, significantly above the Street’s estimate of $0.08 on revenue of $666.28 million. Guy Shahar‘s DSAM Partners upped its stake in Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) by 82% to 811,620 shares during the second quarter, becoming the second-largest shareholder of the company among the hedge funds we cover.
1. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 47
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $1.78 Billion
With hedge fund ownership going up by six and aggregate value of hedge funds’ holdings going up by $222 million, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) turned out to be the most popular gaming stock among hedge funds for the second quarter, retaining its crown from the previous quarter. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)’s shares have mirrored the path of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)’s shares during much of 2015. During the second quarter, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)’s shares were up by 13.1%, however, the recent volatility has caused hem to decline by more than 10% in a matter of a few days, with their year-to-date gains still standing at nearly 40%. The company recently announced that Battlefield 4, which is a hugely popular game, will be getting a big update today, September 1. On August 10, analysts at Piper Jaffray reiterated their ‘Overweight’ rating on the stock, while boosting their price target to $85 from $79. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) counts Philippe Laffont‘s Coatue Management and Cliff Asness‘ AQR Capital Management among its largest shareholder, with those firms having ownership of over 5.74 million shares and 4.60 million shares respectively, at the end of June.
Disclosure: None
