Smart Money Is Gaining Confidence in Farmville Developer Zynga Inc (ZNGA)

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With general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds have jumped into Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) headfirst. Highline Capital Management established the most valuable position in Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA). Highline Capital Management had $34.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management also initiated a $12.5 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ZNGA investors: Leon Shaulov’s Maplelane Capital, Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, and Larry Petrella and Michael Siminerio’s PineView Asset Management.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA). We will take a look at Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC), Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE), Wageworks Inc (NYSE:WAGE), and First Financial Bankshares Inc (NASDAQ:FFIN). All of these stocks’ market caps resemble ZNGA’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
ROIC 8 26035 1
CORE 14 57732 -3
WAGE 10 84067 -1
FFIN 4 7590 1

As you can see these stocks had an average of 9 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $44 million. That figure was $477 million in ZNGA’s case. Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand First Financial Bankshares Inc (NASDAQ:FFIN) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers and grew a lot more bullish on it in Q3, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.

Disclosure: None

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