The Most Popular French Stocks Among Hedge Funds

#2. Criteo SA (ADR) (NASDAQ:CRTO)

– Hedge Funds With Long Positions (as of March 31): 14

– Aggregate Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of March 31): $194.68 Million

The number of hedge fund firms that we track with long positions in Criteo SA (ADR) (NASDAQ:CRTO) climbed to 14 from 13 during the January-to-March quarter, whereas the overall value of those positions fell by 23% to $194.68 million, despite a 4% gain in the value of Criteo ADS’s. In mid-June, the France-based ad tech company filed a lawsuit against industry rival SteelHouse, alleging that SteelHouse ran a “counterfeit click fraud scheme” that tricked e-tailers “into attributing sales to SteelHouse that should have been attributed to Criteo, other competitors and partners, or direct traffic.” The global technology company specialized in digital performance marketing reported revenue of $401.25 million for the first quarter of 2016, up from $294.17 million recorded a year earlier. Criteo’s ADS’s have gained 10% since the beginning of 2016. Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital reported owning 1.06 million ADS’s of Criteo SA (ADR) (NASDAQ:CRTO) in its latest 13F filing.

#1. Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY)

– Hedge Funds With Long Positions (as of March 31): 30

– Aggregate Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of March 31): $813.53 Million

A total of 30 asset managers tracked by Insider Monkey were invested in Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) at the end of the first quarter, with the aggregate value of those money managers’ stakes in Sanofi decreasing by 15% quarter-over-quarter to $813.53 million. In late May, the French drug marker commenced a proxy fight to replace Medivation Inc. (NASDAQ:MDVN)’s entire Board after the California-based cancer therapy marker rejected a $9.3 billion takeover bid. However, Sanofi stopped the fight shortly thereafter and instead joined the battle with other bidders seeking to buy Medivation. The target’s appeal relates to an experimental drug called talazoparib, which is under development for the treatment of breast cancer. Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors had 16.16 million ADS’s of Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) among its holdings at the end of March.

Disclosure: None