As aggregate interest increased, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, established the biggest call position in Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) worth approximately $3.6 million at the end of the quarter. Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow’s Blue Mountain Capital also initiated a $2.2 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new SWHC investors: D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, George Hall’s Clinton Group, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC). We will take a look at Halyard Health Inc (NYSE:HYH), HubSpot Inc (NYSE:HUBS), Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB), and Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to SWHC’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| HYH | 20 | 89019 | 6 |
| HUBS | 24 | 135436 | 5 |
| PRLB | 9 | 96825 | -2 |
| EXPO | 8 | 60977 | -1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 15 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $96 million. That figure was $161 million in SWHC’s case. HubSpot Inc (NYSE:HUBS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard HUBS might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
Disclosure: none.
