The Latest Moves of 2 Top Hedge Funds and One Bullish Pick You Might Want to Follow

Having gained experience in the risk arbitrage divisions of Bass Brothers and Maxxam Group, Clint Carlson started Carlson Capital in 1993, employing a multi-strategy approach to investing. He has used a mix of fundamental analysis and different types of arbitrage strategies to develop an equity portfolio with an estimated value of $9.1 billion at the end of June. Carlson’s investments are well diversified among a large number of sectors, with technology and financial stocks among his favorites. According to its latest 13F filing, Carlson Capital’s largest equity position is Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), with Carlson having increased his stake by 49% to 5.03 million shares. He has also nearly doubled his investments in Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), a provider of utility services, and Partnerre Ltd (NYSE:PRE), an insurance holding company. Carlson Capital holds 8.37 million shares of Exelon and 1.24 million shares of Partnerre.

Ultratech, Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK)‘s stock has been on a “montagne-russe” ride so far this year and is currently 16.3% in the red, dancing around the $15.8 level. For the quarter ending July 4, the company posted revenues of $45.9 million, up by 24.6% year-over-year and has returned to profitability with earnings of $0.06 per share. Wall Street does not expect the good times to last, estimating a loss of $0.15 per share and revenues of $35.6 million for the current quarter.

Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson are also betting on Ultratech, having increased their stake by 10% during the second quarter to 703,726 shares, while D. E. Shaw holds a similar position of 736,405 shares, up by 25% during the quarter. While the number of hedge funds with long positions in Ultratech, Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK) decreased to 11 from 13 between April and June, the overall value of their holdings has risen by 19.6% to $113 million and account for approximately 22.1% of the total outstanding stock.

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