Shareholders Profiting Alongside Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (AAP)

Of funds that have filed for the June 30 reporting period, we see a more bearish trend. While David Harding’s Winton Capital cut his position by 44,737 shares, Benjamin Smith’s Laurion Capital initiated a new position in the stock of 106,700 shares. Likewise, Matthew Hulsizer’s Peak6 Capital Management was showing further bullishness towards the stock in the second quarter, building his position of call options to 82,700 underlying shares from just 10,000 underlying shares held at the end of the first quarter. However, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors sold off its large stake of 523,944 shares, and smaller long positions were closed by a few other funds we track. However, as not all filings are in for the period yet, it’s still far too early to make any proclamations on the current sentiment of hedge funds.

Given the bullishness the smart money displayed towards the company earlier this year, and the strong cost-cutting measures it is undertaking to improve its profitability, including closing underperforming stores and slashing corporate jobs, measures which were announced this week ahead of the latest earnings report, we believe Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) remains an attractive investment.

Disclosure: None