Is HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (HSBC) A Good Stock To Buy?

Now that we’ve listed the most bullish investors, let’s also take a look at some funds that cut their entire stakes in HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC) during the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital cut the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $56.4 million in stock. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s fund, Marshall Wace LLP, also sold off its call options worth about $26.8 million.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY), British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) (NYSEAMEX:BTI), Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), and TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT). All of these stocks’ market caps resemble HSBC’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 37 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.21 billion. That figure was $1.06 billion in HSBC’s case. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC) is even less popular than TOT. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.

Disclosure: None