Energy and healthcare stocks saw the largest growth in new hedge fund buying activity during Q4 2014, with AbbVie, Actavis and Alibaba as the most popular individual stocks, according to S&P Capital IQ’s.
The firm’s quarterly Hedge Fund Tracker provides an aggregate analysis of hedge fund stock ownership and spotlights hedge fund trend-investments in specific stocks and sectors.
“Hedge funds are among the most sophisticated institutional investors in the world. By analysing their behaviour in this manner, we’re able to provide valuable insight for investors who want to know where the ‘smart money’ is investing,” says Pavle Sabic (pictured), Financial Risk Manager, S&P Capital IQ. “SEC filings offer a valuable source of market intelligence for investors if they can quickly access aggregate trend data based on that information.”
Citadel and Millennium were the top two hedge funds in terms of total equity holdings, followed by Renaissance Technologies which beat Icahn Capital to 3rd spot this quarter. Over the course of Q3, Icahn only added 1 new position with 25 stocks held in total.
The top three most-sold stocks among hedge funds in Q3 were Apple, Baidu and Time Warner. Funds in the analysis decreased their positions in Baidu by USD921 million while Apple saw its ownership among funds in the study drop by USD1.3 billion in Q3. Despite this sell-off, Apple remains one of the largest individual stock holdings among the top hedge funds.
The Energy sector saw USD4.4 billion in buying by top hedge funds this quarter, followed by Healthcare, which saw USD3.4 billion in new investment among hedge funds. After leading all sectors in Q2, the Information Technology sector saw a USD497 million sell-off in Q3.
AbbVie and Activis saw sharp increases in buying among hedge funds, with 1.9 billion and USD1.5 billion in new investment, respectively. Unsurprisingly, five hedge funds took brand new positions in Alibaba at USD1.4 billion in total. Following its September IPO, Alibaba landed in 19th position out of the top 100 positions for these 10 hedge funds.
Jumping from 78th to 17th position among top hedge funds’ 100 largest holdings, Mohawk saw USD994 million in buys this quarter compared to last. The company designs, manufactures, sources, distributes, and markets floor covering products for residential and commercial applications in both remodeling and new construction worldwide.
Thermo Fisher, once at the top of the buys, has dropped another USD392 million with 2 hedge funds decreasing their positions.
