Hedge Funds Were Right About These 5 Sinking Stocks

4. Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT)

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 14

Year-to-Date Returns: -67.8%

Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) hit a modest all-time high in hedge fund ownership during Q4, but that was followed by a flight from the stock in Q1, as 22% fewer hedge funds were long RIOT shares by the end of the quarter than had been at the start of it. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment sold off the remainder of its RIOT stake in Q1 after unloading 64% of its position in Q4.

Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) is one of the biggest losers in 2022, but has actually rebounded somewhat in July on the back of rising Bitcoin prices. The miner’s production dropped heavily in July, which was a voluntary move to spare the Texas power grid, and which actually resulted in the company receiving more in benefits ($9 million) than it would have from mining Bitcoins.

Of the coins it does mine, Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) is increasingly selling them to fund its operations, including 86% of the 318 coins in mined in July and 71% of the 421 coins it mined in June. The value of the company’s stash of nearly 6,700 Bitcoins accounts for about 15% of its market cap, not to mention higher BTC prices mean mores revenue for the coins the company does sell, which explains why its stock price is so heavily tied to that of the battered down cryptocurrency.