“October lived up to its scary reputation—the S&P 500 falling in the month by the largest amount in the last 40 years, the only worse Octobers being ’08 and the Crash of ’87. For perspective, there have been only 5 occasions in those 40 years when the S&P 500 declined by greater than 20% from peak to trough. Other than the ’87 Crash, all were during recessions. There were 17 other instances, over the same time frame, when the market fell by over 10% but less than 20%. Furthermore, this is the 18th correction of 5% or more since the current bull market started in March ’09. Corrections are the norm. They can be healthy as they often undo market complacency—overbought levels—potentially allowing the market to base and move even higher.” This is how Trapeze Asset Management summarized the recent market moves in its investor letter. We pay attention to what hedge funds are doing in a particular stock before considering a potential investment because it works for us. So let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards one of the stocks hedge funds invest in.
Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. Units (NASDAQ:EAGLU) has experienced an increase in hedge fund interest of late. Our calculations also showed that EAGLU isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are several gauges shareholders can use to evaluate stocks. Some of the most under-the-radar gauges are hedge fund and insider trading activity. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see the details here).
Let’s check out the fresh hedge fund action surrounding Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. Units (NASDAQ:EAGLU).
What have hedge funds been doing with Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. Units (NASDAQ:EAGLU)?
Heading into the fourth quarter of 2018, a total of 18 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 6% from the second quarter of 2018. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards EAGLU over the last 13 quarters. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
The largest stake in Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. Units (NASDAQ:EAGLU) was held by Governors Lane, which reported holding $19.7 million worth of stock at the end of September. It was followed by Canyon Capital Advisors with a $15.6 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Arrowgrass Capital Partners, Highbridge Capital Management, and Moore Global Investments.
As aggregate interest increased, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Governors Lane, managed by Isaac Corre, created the biggest position in Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. Units (NASDAQ:EAGLU). Governors Lane had $19.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also made a $14.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new EAGLU investors: Andrew Weiss’s Weiss Asset Management, Isaac Corre’s Governors Lane, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. Units (NASDAQ:EAGLU). These stocks are Azure Power Global Limited (NYSE:AZRE), Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA), JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS), and Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (NASDAQ:OXFD). All of these stocks’ market caps are closest to EAGLU’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| AZRE | 3 | 4152 | 0 |
| CIA | 3 | 714 | 1 |
| JKS | 2 | 892 | -3 |
| OXFD | 15 | 176171 | 2 |
| Average | 5.75 | 45482 | 0 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 5.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $45 million. That figure was $142 million in EAGLU’s case. Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (NASDAQ:OXFD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. Units (NASDAQ:EAGLU) 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. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.