Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD): Why Hedge Fund Sentiment Remains Strong

What have hedge funds been doing with Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD)?

At Q4’s end, a total of 57 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a decline of 2% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially (or had already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global has the biggest position in Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), worth close to $1.17 billion, comprising 4.4% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is SPO Advisory Corp, managed by John H. Scully, which holds a $914.8 million position; 16% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other professional money managers that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Since Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) has faced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of hedge funds that slashed their full holdings heading into 2016. At the top of the heap, Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group cut the biggest position of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $503.2 million in call options. Ross Margolies’ fund, Stelliam Investment Management also sold off its call options, about $76.6 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by one fund during the fourth quarter.

The final page of this article reveals the hedge fund activity in other companies that have market values similar to PXD’s.