How are hedge funds trading Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)?
Heading into 2016, a total of 68 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a decline of 7% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Third Point has the number one position in Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), worth close to $1.47 billion, accounting for 14.9% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Samuel Isaly of OrbiMed Advisors, with a $474.2 million position; the fund has 4.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other professional money managers that hold long positions encompass D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Since Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) has witnessed declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of funds who were dropping their entire stakes last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital cut the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds followed by Insider Monkey, comprising about $47.9 million in call options., and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $45 million worth of shares.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN). These stocks are PetroChina Company Limited (ADR) (NYSE:PTR), Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:TSM), Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY), and Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to AMGN’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTR | 8 | 24412 | -2 |
| TSM | 24 | 1785238 | -8 |
| BMY | 59 | 3098365 | -3 |
| MO | 42 | 1645115 | 1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 33 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.64 billion. That figure was $4.69 billion in AMGN’s case. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand PetroChina Company Limited (ADR) (NYSE:PTR) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) 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.
