Lone Pine Capital, the hedge fund managed by Stephen Mandel, bought 8,197,323 shares or a 6.4% stake in SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) based on its latest 13G filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Mandel is one of the protégées, also known as tiger cubs, of billionaire and legendary hedge fund manager Julian Robertson. Last week, Lone Pine Capital increased its position in Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:WYN). The hedge fund purchased 1,066,056 shares bringing its stake in the company to a total of 6,772,247 shares.
SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) is the owner and operator of 17,800 wireless communication towers in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, and Brazil.
SBA Communications expands in Brazil
Last December, the company acquired 2,007 wireless sites in Brazil from Oi SA, one of the largest telecommunications service providers in Brazil for approximately $645 million. SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) purchased the wireless sites to establish itself as the largest and most capable independent tower operators in the country. The company believed that Brazil is a very attractive market that will produce strong growth in the future.
Conversion right for 4% convertible notes triggered
SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) recently announced that the conversion right for its 4% convertible senior notes due 2014 has been triggered after the closing price of its Class A common stock exceeded $39.49 per share for at least 20 trading days during the 30 consecutive trading day period that ended December 31.
Investors more optimistic on 4Q and full year earnings
Zacks Equity Research noted that investors are becoming more optimistic regarding the financial performance of SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBA) based on the sharp upward movement of analyst estimates for the current quarter and full year. Analysts predicted that the company’s losses will decline from $0.18 to $0.14 per share for the current quarter. For the full year, analysts estimate that its losses will be lesser at $0.43 per share compared with the previous estimate of $0.54 a share.
The shares of SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) closed at around $90.65 on Tuesday.
