Should You Avoid Allergan, Inc. (AGN)?

Judging by the fact that Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) has experienced a decline in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there is a sect of money managers that elected to cut their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global sold off the biggest position of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $448.2 million in stock, and Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $203 million worth of shares. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 16 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA), Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON), Royal Bank of Canada (USA) (NYSE:RY), and Ambev SA (ADR) (NYSE:ABEV). This group of stocks’ market caps match AGN’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 36 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.40 billion. By comparison, hedge funds amassed $10.59 billion worth of Allergan’s stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) is the most popular stock in this table, while Royal Bank of Canada (USA) (NYSE:RY) is the least popular one with only 17 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) 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.