Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?
The Insider Monkey team has completed processing the quarterly 13F filings for the September quarter submitted by the hedge funds and other money managers included in our extensive database. Most hedge fund investors endured a torrid quarter, which certainly propelled them to adjust their equity holdings so as to maintain the desired risk profile. As a result, the relevancy of these public filings and their content is indisputable, as they may reveal numerous high-potential stocks. The following article will discuss the smart money sentiment towards Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK).
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) has seen an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently. ADSK was in 66 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2018. There were 60 hedge funds in our database with ADSK positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that ADSK isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to the beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 18 percentage points since May 2014 through December 3, 2018 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 24% through December 3, 2018. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
We're going to take a gander at the latest hedge fund action regarding Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK).
Hedge fund activity in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)
At Q3's end, a total of 66 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 10% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards ADSK over the last 13 quarters. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
More specifically, Tiger Global Management LLC was the largest shareholder of Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), with a stake worth $361.8 million reported as of the end of September. Trailing Tiger Global Management LLC was Darsana Capital Partners, which amassed a stake valued at $339.5 million. Citadel Investment Group, Point State Capital, and Sachem Head Capital were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
As industry-wide interest jumped, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Polar Capital, managed by Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley, established the biggest position in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK). Polar Capital had $125.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons's Renaissance Technologies also made a $106.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ADSK investors: Dennis Puri and Oliver Keller's Hunt Lane Capital, Jeffrey Talpins's Element Capital Management, and James Crichton's Hitchwood Capital Management.
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) but similarly valued. These stocks are Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE), Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO), and Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB). All of these stocks' market caps match ADSK's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position RACE,26,1308065,-1 FISV,31,594401,5 SCCO,17,326556,-1 WMB,43,1838341,3 [/table]
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 29.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1017 million. That figure was $3574 million in ADSK's case. Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand 0 is the least popular one with only 17 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
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