Quant Fund Two Sigma Advisors Most Important Moves Involve Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), Facebook Inc (FB) & More

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)

– Shares Owned by Two Sigma Advisors (as of June 30): 1.84 Million

– Value of The Holding (as of June  30): $210.71 Million

Moving on, Two Sigma Advisors boosted its stake in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) by 236% during the second quarter. At the end of last week, shares of the social media giant declined on reports that for two years it vastly overestimated  the average viewing time of video ads on its platform. Despite that beating, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s stock is still trading up by 23% year-to-date. On September 26, analysts at Cowen and Company published a note in which they displayed conviction on the company saying that “[…] this looks like a story in search of a controversy. We have every reason to expect that FB treats its metrics and definitions as sacrosanct and that this is a case of clarification versus an attempt to mislead advertisers.” In their note, the analysts also reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating and $140 price target on the stock. Facebook was the most popular stocks at the end of second quarter among hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, with 148 of them  holding shares with a total value of $15.24 billion.

 Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX)

– Shares Owned by Two Sigma Advisors (as of June 30): 4.78 Million

– Value of The Holding (as of June  30): $216.41 Million

Amid a 10% rise in Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX)’s stock during the second quarter, Two Sigma Advisors boosted its holding in the company by 222%. Other hedge funds that also increased their stakes in the company included David Fear‘s Thunderbird Partners and Jim Simons‘ Renaissance Technologies. Though Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX)’s stock has appreciated by 24% so far in 2016, when the stocks of most of its peers is trading in the red, a number of analysts still consider the stock to be undervalued. According to them, Baxter International is one of the most risk-averse player in the healthcare industry and hence a safe bet for investors. Additionally, they also think that the company’s margins are much stronger and relatively stable when compared to its peers. On September 15, analysts at Barclays PLC initiated coverage on the stock with an ‘Overweight’ rating and $52 price target.

Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC)

– Shares Owned by Two Sigma Advisors (as of June 30): 470,048

– Value of The Holding (as of June  30): $13.51 Million

With Two Sigma Advisors increasing its stake in the company by 577% during the second quarter, Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) jumped several spots in the fund’s equity portfolio and became its fourth largest equity holding at the end of that period. The bank holding company has lost over 10% of its market capitalization this month after it was revealed that it has been fined $185 million for account-opening scandal. Taking into account this recent decline, Wells Fargo & Co’s stock now trades down by over 18% year-to-date. Recently, Goldman Sachs Group’s analyst Richard Ramsden released a note, in which he defended Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) and reiterated his ‘Buy’ rating and $56 price target on the stock. According to Mr. Ramsden, the stock can remain volatile in the near-term, but its attractive annual dividend yield will protect it from any significant downside. The number of hedge funds covered by us that were long Wells Fargo & Co declined by two to 88 during the April-June period.

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