Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Top 20 Holdings http://www.straightstocks.com Leading Stock Market News, Opinions and Commentary Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:02:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Atticus Capital Management | 13F Hedge Fund Holdings Analysis http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/atticus-capital-management-13f-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/atticus-capital-management-13f-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis/#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:56:53 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-2167948212178905203 Atticus Capital

Atticus Capital | 13 Hedge Fund Holdings

Atticus Capital Management | 13F Hedge Fund Holdings AnalysisThis post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.

Atticus Capital is a $13 billion hedge fund ran by Timothy Barakett. In 2005, Atticus' funds were up a combined 45%. And, they finished well over 30% for 2006. Barakett founded the firm at age 26 in 1995 and focuses on taking large, concentrated positions in companies. One of Atticus' most famous investments was Phelps Dodge, a miner which was bought out by Freeport McMoran (FCX). At one point, Atticus owned more than 9% of Phelps. And, they continue to hold their position in what is now the combined FCX. Barakett received his BA in Economics from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard as well. Its very evident that Barakett employs macro based investment theses. Once he has decided on what the trend is, he will find the best company within that trend and he will place a big bet. And, when needed, he will step in and take an activist role, ensuring the company is performing to his liking.

Keep in mind that this is merely a brief summary of Atticus' top holdings. Due to the time sensitive nature of the 13F material, I wanted to get this information posted before the next set of filings come out in November.

Top 20 Holdings by % of portfolio
1. Union Pacific (UNP) - Increased position by 61%
2. Conoco Philips (COP) - Stake rasied by only 0.3%
3. Mastercard (MA) - Decreased position by 13%
4. Burlington Northern (BNI) - Decreased stake by 6%
5. Freeport McMoran (FCX) - Decreased position by nearly 52%
6. NYSE Euronext (NYX) - Sold off 9.3% of their position
7. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) - Decreased stake by 7%
8. Crown Castle (CCI) - Decreased by only 0.4%
9. Peabody Energy (BTU) - New position
10. Baidu (BIDU) - Increased stake by 65%
11. Norfolk Southern (NSC) - Increased position by 36%
12. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) - Decreased stake by 16.6%
13. Visa (V) - New position
14. Boeing (BA) - Boosted stake by 440% (no, not a typo)
15. Praxair (PX) - New position
16. Focus Media (FMCN) - New position
17. Unibanco (UBB) - Sold off 36% of position
18. Amerco (UHAL) - Decreased stake by 32%
19. Conseco (CNO) - Sold off 8.8% of position
20. Vale (RIO) - New position

So, if you didn't already notice, Atticus definitely favors positions in the rails. And, you can't blame them. Those investments have paid off significantly over the course of the year. Atticus has large positions in most of the majors: Burlington (BNI), Norfolk (NSC), and Union Pacific (UNP). Atticus also holds a position in CSX Corp (CSX), but it just isn't a top 20 holding. Atticus boosted their stake in UNP by 61%, propelling it all the way up to the fund's top holding. Numerous other hedge funds have very large positions in the rails as I've noted before. Not to mention, Warren Buffett has some pretty large stakes in some of the rails as well.

Next, I noticed that Atticus was selling off a chunk of their Mastercard (MA). This position could potentially be another one that has been causing them some pain lately. Although they sold 13% last quarter when the share price was trading around $270-300, MA has since plumetted, and is currently hovering around $185. And, considering it was/is their 3rd largest holding, it has to be causing them some pain.

Freeport McMoran (FCX) comes in at the fund's 5th largest holding and could equally be responsible for the fund's poor performance this year. As I noted earlier, they gained these FCX shares through their purchase of Phelps Dodge (who was acquired by FCX). And, up until now, they had pretty much held onto the shares of the new company. But, this past quarter, we saw Barakett unload nearly half his position. At the time of this sale, FCX was trading anywhere from $100-120. But, recently, FCX has traded way down to $63. This name has seen brutal selling over the past few months and you have to think that either Atticus was getting mauled by the sell-off, or they were partly responsible for it. We'll see what the verdict is come November when the next 13F filings are released.

Atticus also added some new holdings this past quarter, and they were adding with conviction. They initiated a position in Peabody (BTU) and brought it up to the fund's 9th largest holding. Additionally, they initiated Visa (V) as their 13th largest holding, Praxair (PX) as their 15th, and Focus Media (FMCN) as their 16th largest. Also, although they already owned Boeing (BA), they boosted their stake by a whopping 440%, bringing it way up to the fund's 14th biggest position.

Overall, it's easy to see where some of Atticus' pain may be coming from this year. Barakett runs a smaller, highly concentrated portfolio. And, when it wins, it wins big. But, as you're seeing now, it can also lose big as well. To see all of Atticus Capital's holdings, you can view their entire 13F filing with the SEC.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/atticus-capital-management-13f-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis/feed/ 0 Harbinger Capital | 13F Hedge Fund Holdings Analysis http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/harbinger-capital-13f-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/harbinger-capital-13f-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis/#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:12:42 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-8110288810295459119 Harbinger Capital

Harbinger Capital | 13F Hedge Fund Holdings


Harbinger Capital | 13F Hedge Fund Holdings AnalysisThis post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.

Harbinger Capital is a $13.8 Billion firm ran by Philip Falcone. Taken from StreetInsider, Harbinger is "a disciplined, value investor with an emphasis on intensive credit research. Its focus is on middle market companies that tend to be misunderstood or under-researched by the market. Investment approaches include:

Restructuring/Bankruptcy, Turnaround, Liquidation, Event Driven, Capital Structure Arbitrage, Short Sale and Special Situations." At one point during this year, they were up as much as 42% (more on that below).

So, now that we've got a background on Harbinger Capital, let's take a quick look at their portfolio highlights. Keep in mind that this is merely a brief summary of their top holdings. Due to the time sensitive nature of the 13F material, I wanted to get this information posted before the next set of filings come out in November.

Top 20 Holdings by % of Portfolio
1. Freeport McMoran (FCX) - Added to position by 4.3%
2. Cleveland Cliffs (CLF) - Boosted stake by 127%
3. AK Steel (AKS) - Added to position by 12%
4. Mirant (MIR) - Added to stake by 7.5%
5. Sprint Nextel (S) - New position
6. Ultrashort Financials (SKF) - Decreased stake by 10%
7. Atlas Air Worldwide (AAWW) - Barely moved stake, literally only sold 4 shares
8. Leap Wireless (LEAP) - No change in position
9. Ashland (ASH) - Increased position by 17.4%
10. New York Times (NYT) - Sold literally only 12 shares
11. Owens Corning (OC) - Boosted stake by 4.8%
12. Cablevision (CVC) - New position
13. Corn Products International (CPO) - Increased stake by 168%
14. Williams Sonoma (WSM) - Sold literally only 3 shares
15. Yahoo (YHOO) - New position
16. TerreStar Corp (TSTR) - Boosted stake by 2.7%
17. Peabody Energy (BTU) - New position
18. RTI International Metals (RTI) - No change in position
19. Northwest Airlines (NWA) - Added only 46 shares
20. Hughes Communication (HUGH) - No change in position

Harbinger's top 3 holdings have undoubtedly increased the volatility in their portfolio. Those three stocks have been on a downward spiral to hell. Freeport McMoran (FCX), Harbinger's top holding, traded around $110-120 at the time of this SEC filing. Since then, FCX has sold off hard and currently trades around $53. Additionally, their position in Cleveland Cliffs (CLF), which they increased by 127% last quarter, has played out in similar fashion. (They basically bought additional CLF at the top). CLF traded around $120 at the time they disclosed their positions. Now, CLF trades around $48. How about some more? Let's move on to AK Steel (AKS), which traded around $70 at the time of this filing. Now, it trades around $23. Undoubtedly, you get the picture. Harbinger's metals and natural resource plays have really been a thorn in their side. And, if there is one 13F filing I am most looking forward to come November, Harbinger's would be it. Because, in that next filing, we will get to see their updated portfolio to see if they were "buying the dip" in these names, or whether they were puking them up with the rest of the market. Harbinger has massive positions in these names, as they are their top 3 largest portfolio holdings.

So, how much pain did those positions (among others) cause Harbinger? Well, a lot, as I recently noted in my performance update on Harbinger. Earlier in the year, they were up as much as 42%. And, nowadays, they find themselves up only 2% for the year. How's that for a swing? This is why I say that their next filing will be very interesting, because many of their top holdings have seen wild volatility.

Other notable portfolio news includes new positions in Sprint Nextel (S), Cablevision (CVC), Peabody Energy (BTU), and Yahoo (YHOO). These are positions that Harbinger did not hold in the prior quarter and thus are new holdings. And, they were sinking a lot of money into these positions, as they brought all of these holdings all the way up to top 20 holdings in their portfolio.

One last thing I want to mention is their position in Corn Products International (CPO). Over the past quarter, they boosted their position in this company by 168%, bringing it up to their 13th largest holding. So, on one hand, you can highlight that they were buying with conviction and that maybe it's a name we should be paying attention to. On the other hand, they added to CLF with conviction and look where that got them. Point being, they were heavily adding to this name.

Also, since this 13F filing, we have seen additional activity by Harbinger. In a recent 13G filed with the SEC, Harbinger has disclosed a 6% ownership stake in Ashland (ASH). They now own 3,789,266 shares. Curiously enough, in the 13F detailed above, Harbinger held 5,871,426 shares of ASH. So, they've decreased their position substantially recently. A 13G filing signifies a passive investment in a company. But, as we are all too familiar with Harbinger's activist exploits in the coal/steel arena, there's always the option they could shift this position from a passive investment, to an activist one (which would require a 13D filing). But, for now, they've maintained it as a passive investment while decreasing their stake.

That sums up the details of Harbinger's filing. Overall, it's been the worst year for hedge funds in a long time, and Harbinger is a perfect example of such volatility.

You can view Harbinger's entire 13F filing over at the SEC.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/harbinger-capital-13f-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis/feed/ 0 Tudor Hedge Fund | Paul Tudor Jones 13F Holdings Analysis http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/tudor-hedge-fund-paul-tudor-jones-13f-holdings-analysis/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/tudor-hedge-fund-paul-tudor-jones-13f-holdings-analysis/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:52:00 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-1812069820705544391 Tudor Hedge Fund

Tudor Hedge Fund 13F Holdings Analysis

This post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.

Next up in the macro hedge fund tracking series we have Tudor Investment Corp, the brainchild of Paul Tudor Jones. Taken from Wikipedia, the bio of PTJ is as follows: "In 1980 he founded Tudor Investment Corporation which is today a leading asset management firm headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Tudor Group, which consists of Tudor Investment Corporation and its affiliates, is involved in active trading, investing and research in the global equity, venture capital, debt, currency and commodity markets. One of Jones' earliest and major successes was predicting Black Monday in 1987, tripling his money during the event due to large short positions. Jones uses a global macro strategy when trading in some of his funds. This strategy can be seen in the 1987 PBS film "TRADER: The Documentary". The film shows Mr. Jones as a young man predicting the 1987 crash. Jones' firm currently manages$17.7 billion (as of June 1, 2007). Their investment capabilities are broad and diverse, including global macro trading, fundamental equity investing in the U.S. and Europe, emerging markets, venture capital, commodities, event driven strategies and technical trading systems." So, as you can see, PTJ is quite an accomplished gentleman, earning him the title of THE macro trader.

So, now that we've got a background on Jones and Tudor Investment Corp, let's take a quick look at his portfolio highlights. Keep in mind that this is merely a brief summary of Tudor's top holdings. Due to the time sensitive nature of the 13F material, I wanted to get this information posted before the next set of filings come out in November.

Top 20 Holdings by % of portfolio
1. Plains Exploration and Production (PXP) - Added to his position by $160 million
2. Anadarko Petroleum (APC) - Nearly doubled his stake
3. Mirant (MIR) - Increased position by 21%
4. Elan (ELN) - Decreased position by 22%
5. SPDR Trust (SPY) - New position
6. Entergy (ETR) - New position
7. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) - New position
8. NRG Energy (NRG) - Added to his position very slightly
9. Alcoa (AA) - Increased stake by nearly 33%
10. Mastercard (MA) - Increased stake by 12%
11. Wellpoint (WLP) - New position
12. Williams Companies (WMB) - Decreased position by 34%
13. Qualcomm (QCOM) - Decreased position by 30%
14. DirecTV (DTV) - Literally added only 3 more shares
15. Marvell Technology (MRVL) - Increased stake by 3.6%
16. Allegheny Energy (AYE) - Decreased stake by 26%
17. Fidelity Information Services (FIS) - Increased position by 76%
18. Verisign (VRSN) - Increased stake by 49%
19. CSX Corp (CSX) - Decreased stake by 18.6%
20. Heinz (HNZ) - Decreased position by 20.7%

At the time of the filing, Tudor Investment Corp's total equity portfolio totalled around $5.7 billion. So, I just want to re-emphasize that since they are a macro fund, they obviously have additional positions in the commodity, currency, futures, or other markets. But, at the same time, they still have a sizable chunk of money in the equity markets.

Paul Tudor Jones was out adding brand new positions to his portfolio in a big way. He established new positions in: The Spiders (SPY), Entergy (ETR), Occidental (OXY), and Wellpoint (WLP). Not only did he start new positions in these names, but he brought them all up to top 10 holdings within one quarter. I want to highlight his stakes in Entergy and Occidental, as they are both energy related. I'm slowly but surely starting to see ETR pop up in numerous hedge fund portfolios, so it's definitely worth keeping any eye on. These funds could be establishing this as one of their ways to play the nuclear energy space, as the alternative energy train picks up steam. We'll see if he adds to this position in the next round of 13F filings. At the time of filing, his stake in ETR was worth a bit over $201 million. Secondly, Occidental (OXY) is another 'hedge fund favorite' energy play. This integrated energy producer has definitely been firing on all cylinders fundamentally. But, with the recent volatility in the commodities markets, one would have to assume that PTJ has felt some pain with this position. He had this position as of June 30th (the time of the filing), and around then OXY was trading around $87.50. In the coming months, OXY would drop to as low as $65, before rebounding to current levels of around $80. So, we'll wait and see next time if he bailed ship or if he stuck with this name. At the time of filing, his position in OXY was worth $181 million. If I were to bet, I would say that he did not add to this position, because one of his rules is never to average down on a loser.

Interesting to see that Paul Tudor Jones decreased his position in Qualcomm (QCOM) by 30%. QCOM is by far one of the most common names in hedge fund portfolios these days. So, whether he was taking profits or saw something he fundamentally disliked remains to be seen. We'll have to monitor this next quarter to see if he continues to sell down his position. It's always interesting to see how various funds handle a position they have in common with numerous other well-respected funds.

I also want to point out his decision to add to his Verisign (VRSN) position. He upped his stake by nearly 50%, bringing it up to his 18th largest position. I haven't seen this name pop up in too many funds' portfolios, so I was intrigued to see him beef up his stake pretty substantially.

So, while last quarter's glimpse inside Tudor's portfolio is interesting, it will be much more interesting to see what they've done with these holdings come November. We already knew hedge funds (and macro funds in particular) had a rough July. And, it's easy to see why, with the heavy commodity exposure many of them had. But, as of a few weeks ago, Tudor was still up on the year, in a year when many funds are seeing red from all the whipsawing.

Tudor Investment Corp's full 13F filing listing every position can be found at the SEC.

View our Hedge Fund Tracker research by clicking here or are 13F analysis work by clicking here.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/tudor-hedge-fund-paul-tudor-jones-13f-holdings-analysis/feed/ 0 Caxton Associates Hedge Fund | Exclusive 13F Holdings Analysis http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/caxton-associates-hedge-fund-exclusive-13f-holdings-analysis/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/caxton-associates-hedge-fund-exclusive-13f-holdings-analysis/#comments Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:33:43 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-4864085456662095756 Caxton Associatese

Caxton Associates Hedge Fund Holdings

Caxton Associates Hedge Fund | 13F Holdings AnalysisThis post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.

Up next in the macro hedge fund tracking series we have Caxton Associates, ran by Bruce Kovner. Taken from Wikipedia, Kovner's bio is as follows: "Kovner's first trade was for $3,000, borrowed against his MasterCard, in soybean futures contracts. Realizing growth to $40,000, he then watched the contract drop to $23,000 before selling. He later claimed that this first, nerve-racking trade taught him the importance of hedge fund risk management. In his eventual role as a trader under the legendary Michael Marcus at Commodities Corporation (now part of Goldman Sachs), he purportedly made millions and gained widespread respect as an objective and sober trader. This ultimately led to the establishment of his current company, Caxton Associates, in 1983, which today manages over $10 billion in capital and has been closed to new investors since 1992." Year-to-date, Caxton Associates was up 5% as of a few weeks ago.

So, now that we've got a background on Kovner and Caxton Associates, let's take a quick look at his portfolio highlights. Keep in mind that this is merely a brief summary of Caxton's top holdings. Due to the time sensitive nature of the 13F material, I wanted to get this information posted before the next set of filings come out in November.

Top 20 Holdings by % of portfolio
1. Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CCU) - Increased position by 72934%, from 25,000 shares to 18,233,668 shares
2. Electronic Data Systems (EDS) - New Position
3. Activision (ATVI) - New Position
4. Monsanto (MON) - Increased position by 41 %
5. Rockwood Holdings (ROC) - Increased position by 68.8%
6. W-H Energy Services (WHQ) - Increased stake by 195%
7. Occidental (OXY) - Increased stake by 65%
8. ChoicePoint (CPS) - Decreased position by
9. DirecTV (DTV) - Decreased stake by 25%
10. W.R. Grace (GRA) - Boosted stake by 8%
11. Qualcomm (QCOM) - Boosted stake by 44.6%
12. Coca Cola (KO) - Decreased position by 12.5%
13. Rural Cellular (RCCC) - Increased stake by 12.4%
14. Research in Motion (RIMM) - Boosted stake by 8.7%
15. Service Corporation (SCI) - Increased position by 32%
16. Nucor (NUE) - Boosted position by 37%
17. (ANST) - New position
18. XTO (XTO) - Boosted stake by 150%
19. Stewart Enterprises (STEI) - Increased position by 12%
20. Gilead (GILD) - Decreased position by 26.7%

Kovner's Caxton Associates definitely disassociate themselves from the rest of the macro pack when it comes to the equity side of their portfolio. While their portfolio does hold typical energy and technology names often seen in other hedge fund portfolios, they also hold seemingly obscure names that I have yet to see pop up in any other funds I track. So, Kovner and his team may have discovered some diamonds in the rough here. In particular, I want to focus on his top holding: Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CCU). In the quarter prior to the filing, he held just 25,000 shares of this name. Then, over this past quarter, he ratcheted up his holdings in the name big time. He increased his position by 72,934%, bringing it all the way up to his firm's top holding, with a market value of over $642 million at the time of the filing. Needless to say, they bought this name with conviction. And, although I've seen numerous other funds buying up shares of Latin & South American beverage companies, this is the first fund I've seen pick up this name. So, definitely keep an eye on it.

Additionally, I want to point out his holdings in Rocwood Holdings (ROC), W-H Energy Services (WHQ), and Service Corporation (SCI). These are three other names I am seeing for the first time amongst the hedge funds I track. And, he was adding across the board to all three names. Caxton added to WHQ the most, increasing their position by 195%.

Now, turning to the 'hedge fund favorite' names that tend to pop up in numerous hedge fund portfolios that I track, we see Caxton holds positions in Qualcomm (QCOM), Research in Motion (RIMM), XTO Energy (XTO), Occidental (OXY), and Gilead (GILD). Caxton was out adding pretty moderately to all these names. OXY and XTO are easily two of the favorite equity energy plays amongst various hedge funds. And, you have to wonder how they affected their portfolio, given the volatile ride energy stocks have seen as of late. Turning to tech, we see that Caxton, like so many other funds, enjoy large positions in both QCOM and RIMM. As I've noted before, QCOM is easily a top five most common equity holding among the hedge funds I track. And, just like energy, technology stocks have been whipsawed around a lot recently. So, although Caxton was out adding this past quarter, we'll have to see if they were still adding to these names come the next 13F filing.

We already knew hedge funds (and macro funds in particular) had a rough July. And, it's easy to see why, with the heavy commodity exposure many of them had. What we don't yet know is how they've rebounded (if at all). Lastly, I just want to re-emphasize that since Caxton is a macro fund, they obviously have the majority of their positions in the commodity, currency, futures, or other markets. But, at the same time, they still have a sizable chunk of money in the equity markets.

Caxton Associates' full 13F filing listing every position can be found at the SEC.

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