Hedge Fund Ownership Paints a Positive Picture of Francesca’s Holdings Corp (FRAN)

As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Marshall Wace LLP, managed by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, established the most outsized position in Francesca’s Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FRAN). Marshall Wace LLP had $2.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Neil Chriss’ Hutchin Hill Capital also initiated a $2.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Sander Gerber’s Hudson Bay Capital Management, Mike Vranos’ Ellington, and Jeffrey Moskowitz’s Harvey Partners.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Francesca’s Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FRAN). We will take a look at Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM), Dorchester Minerals LP (NASDAQ:DMLP), Lindblad Expeditions Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LIND), and American Vanguard Corp. (NYSE:AVD). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to FRAN’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 10 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $30 million. That figure was $142 million in FRAN’s case. Almost Family, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFAM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Dorchester Minerals LP (NASDAQ:DMLP) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Francesca’s Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FRAN) 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.

Disclosure: None