According to a recently-amended 13D filing with the SEC, Gregory A. Boland’s West Face Capital disclosed an ownership stake of 4.17 million shares in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL), which represents 6.1% of the company’s outstanding common stock. This marks a decrease of 205,000 shares to the fund’s position since 30, as disclosed in its latest 13F filing for the second quarter. In the meantime, Matt Sirovich and Jeremy Mindich’s Scopia Capital has disclosed that it now owns 14.72 million shares in Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPR), accounting for 10.42% of the company’s common stock. This is down by 2.37 million shares since the fund revealed its stake in the company through its most recent 13F filing with the SEC.
Most investors don’t understand hedge funds and indicators that are based on hedge funds’ activities. They ignore hedge funds because of their recent poor performance in the bull market. Our research indicates that hedge funds underperformed because they aren’t 100% long. Hedge fund fees are also very large compared to the returns generated and they reduce the net returns experienced by investors. We uncovered that hedge funds’ long positions actually outperformed the market. For instance the 15 most popular small-cap stocks among funds beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 60 percentage points since the end of August 2012. These stocks returned a cumulative of 118% vs. 57.6% gain for the S&P 500 Index (read the details). That’s why we believe investors should pay attention to what hedge funds are buying (rather than what their net returns are).
West Face Capital is one of the leading alternative investment management firms in Canada. The Toronto-based firm, which is currently overseen by Gregory Boland, and founded in 1998, has assets under management of over $2.5 billion and primarily invests in Canadian and U.S. stocks, though it does not eschew from investing in international opportunities as well. West Face specializes in event-oriented investments and seeks stocks that have recently declined in price or are undergoing restructuring or bankruptcy. As revealed by its latest 13F, West Face Capital manages a public equity portfolio worth $339.10 million as of June 30.
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SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) is a leading global organic food company that primarily specializes in sourcing, processing, and packaging of natural and certified organic food products. The shares of SunOpta have lost almost 19% since the beginning of the year, but may rebound soon enough if the company manages to achieve the potential synergies associated with its recent acquisition of Niagara Natural Fruit Snack Company’s assets. On August 12, SunOpta announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to purchase the assets of the growing and innovative manufacturer of healthy, non-genetically modified and organic fruit snacks, which will in turn enhance SunOpta’s existing healthy snack platform. The acquisition is expected to generate both operational and logistical synergies, which are likely to be noticeable in the company’s upcoming financial results. In the meantime, SunOpta has also recently announced its financial results for the second quarter of the year, reporting revenues of $307.3 million for the quarter, compared to $327.6 million posted in the same quarter a year ago. At the same time, the company’s earnings came to $2.0 million or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to $8.7 million or $0.13 per share reported a year ago. Mariko Gordon’s Daruma Capital Management, one of the 737 actively reporting hedge funds that we track, is among the largest shareholders in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL), owning a stake of 5.12 million shares as of June 30.
Scopia Capital, the other hedge fund we are covering in this article, is a value-driven hedge fund established by Matt Sirovich and Jeremy Mindich in April 2001. The New York-based firm mainly employs a fundamentals-based investment approach, which has turned out to be quite successful throughout the course of the fund’s existence. Scopia Capital has delivered an annualized return of 9.65% from its inception through August 2012, and preserved a strong downside protection over the period. Scopia Capital manages a public equity portfolio with a market value of $5.15 billion as of June 30.
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Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPR) operates as a non-original equipment manufacturer that designs, engineers, and manufacturers large commercial aircraft structures worldwide. The stock is currently trading near its all-time high, gaining over 30% year-to-date amid strong demand for jetliners. Just recently, Greg Smith, the CFO of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), has claimed that the company has seen the strong demand for its jetliners continuing, which is great news for Spirit AeroSystems given that it has work on all Boeing programs at the moment. Even though there are some concerns that the current boom in demand may not last for long, Boeing doesn’t see a slowdown coming just yet. Spirit AeroSystems recently revealed its financial results for the second quarter of 2015, posting revenues of $1.7 billion, down by 6% year-over-year. However, the company delivered net income of $155 million or $1.11 per diluted share for the quarter, compared to net income of $143 million or $1.01 reported in the same quarter a year ago. At the same time, Spirit’s revenue guidance for the full-year 2015 was not changed, with the company anticipating it to be in the range of $6.6 billion and $6.7 billion. Jonathan Auerbach’s Hound Partners is one of the largest shareholders in Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPR) within our database, holding a stake of 10.15 million shares as of June 30.
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