Alibaba Group (BABA) – The Top New Position For Hedge Funds

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By the end of 3Q 2014, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) was the 16th largest holding of the aggregate portfolio, as 21 of the 50 largest hedge funds had a position in the Chinese Internet giant. During the third quarter, Mallinckrodt PLC (NYSE:MNK) was the largest sale in aggregate for the top 50 hedge funds.

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Hedge funds upped equity exposure

John Butters of FactSet, in a report titled “Hedge Fund Ownership” dated Nov. 19, 2014, notes that the 50 largest hedge funds enhanced their equity exposure by 3.8% in Q3 2014. Despite recording the second largest sale in aggregate during the quarter, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remained the largest holding of hedge fund managers:

Alibaba  Apple - The top holding

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As can be deduced from the above table, Alibaba was the 16th largest holding of the aggregate portfolio at the end of the third quarter as 21 of the 50 hedge funds had a position in the company. Interestingly, the Chinese Internet major held its initial public offering only recently, on Sept. 26.

The specialty bio-pharmaceutical company Shire PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:SHPG) (LON:SHP) was the top purchase of hedge funds for the quarter. Notably, the market value purchased in Shire was nearly $1 billion more than the next closest company, eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY). It may be recalled, AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) made a proposal to acquire Shire PLC, which was subsequently rejected by the specialty bio-pharmaceutical company. Moreover, AbbVie was the third highest purchase in aggregate of hedge funds during the third quarter:

Top purchases Alibaba

Mallinckrodt, Apple – Top sales

Another specialty pharmaceutical company, Mallinckrodt PLC, was the largest sale in aggregate for the top hedge funds during Q3 2014. The company was the top sale of two of the 50 hedge funds during the third quarter. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) recorded the second largest sale in aggregate during the third quarter, which was the top sale of three of the 50 hedge funds.

Interestingly, despite the decrease in exposure, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remained the largest holding of the aggregate portfolio, constituting 1.6% of all equity holdings.

Top sales Alibaba

In terms of sector, the 50 largest hedge funds added exposure in nine of the ten sectors, led by the Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Energy sectors.

Sector breakdown Alibaba

As can be deduced from the following graph, the only sector in which the largest 50 hedge funds pruned exposure in aggregate was the Telecom Services sector:

Sector movement Alibaba

The following sets forth the cap group breakdown and movement of the top 50 hedge funds:

Cap group analysis and movement Alibaba

 

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