Keeping this in mind, let’s review the latest action surrounding Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).
How have hedgies been trading Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)?
At Q4’s end, a total of 146 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 14% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Lone Pine Capital, managed by Stephen Mandel, holds the number one position in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Lone Pine Capital has a $1.02 billion position in the stock, comprising 4.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Coatue Management, led by another Tiger cub, holding a $691.9 million position; the fund has 6.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors that hold long positions encompass John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Limited, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Soroban Capital Partners, managed by Eric W. Mandelblatt, initiated the most valuable call position in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Soroban Capital Partners had $314 million invested in the Facebook’s call options at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies also initiated a $187.6 million position during the quarter. Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management and Aaron Cowen’s Suvretta Capital Management also initiated positions in the social media giant during the quarter.
Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) but similarly valued- to have an idea about the magnitude of hedge fund optimism in Facebook. These stocks are Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL). This group of stocks’ market caps match FB’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| JNJ | 72 | 4162781 | -2 |
| WFC | 85 | 32556760 | 0 |
| JPM | 100 | 7576423 | 0 |
| CHL | 24 | 256853 | 4 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 70.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $11.1 billion. That figure was $10.8 billion in FB’s case. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL) is the least popular one with only 24 bullish hedge fund positions. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is twice as popular as these stocks among hedge funds. We usually invest in small-cap stocks, but if you are looking for a large-cap stock to invest in, Facebook is a great candidate.
