>>> Consensus New Buys
* Global Payments (GPN): Managers that show brand new stakes in GPN include Maverick Capital, Glenview Capital, and Lone Pine Capital. The company recently completed a $21.5 billion merger with TSYS to form a leading pure play technology-enabled payments platform.
* Wayfair (W): Hound Partners, Tiger Global, and Sequoia Fund all show new stakes in the furniture ecommerce company. Shares slid during the quarter from $140 down to lows of $100. And in trading thus far in Q4, they’ve fallen even lower to current levels around $84.
* Fidelity National Information Services (FIS): Funds that show a new position in FIS for Q3 include Maverick, Glenview Capital, and Third Point. This name comes with a caveat because the company recently completed its acquisition of WorldPay (former ticker WP) in a $35 billion deal. Some funds (like Third Point) previously owned WP and as a result of the merger no longer show a stake in WP and now instead show a ‘new’ stake in FIS. WP shareholders received 0.9287 FIS shares and $11 in cash for each WP share owned.
* IPO’s: Datadog (DDOG) and Cloudflare (NET): These two names both went public in the third quarter. For the most part, these are smaller positions but a decent chunk of funds show new holdings, so they made the list. Hedge funds that show DDOG positions include Tiger Global, Coatue, and Viking Global while funds showing NET positions include Omega Advisors, Tiger Global, and Viking. DDOG in particular has seen some interest among tech-focused funds so it will be interesting to see if they build positions further or were merely flipping the IPO shares.
>>> Consensus Increased Positions
* Alibaba (BABA): This is the second quarter in a row that BABA lands on this list. Funds that accumulated more shares include Maverick, Farallon Capital, Viking, Coatue, Lone Pine, and Tiger Global. All things considered, shares of the Chinese e-commerce giant have held up quite well. They’ve faced a trade war, a potentially slowing Chinese economy, as well as a large block seller of its shares (Altaba). When funds were buying, BABA traded between $155 and $180 and now presently trades around $185. The company just concluded its annual Singles Day selling bonanza (akin to Black Friday or Cyber Monday in the US, but on a bigger scale) and set yet another gross merchandise value (GMV) record.
* Alphabet (GOOG): Despite facing potential antitrust inquiries, shares of GOOG have also held up quite well. Funds that bought more of Google’s parent company include Tiger Management, Farallon, Maverick, Appaloosa, and Sequoia Fund.
* Salesforce.com (CRM): Shares of the customer relationship management company were bought by Tiger Global, Third Point, Viking, and Lone Pine during Q3. Software as a Service (SaaS) stocks have sold off in recent months, though CRM shares weren’t impacted to the same degree as other firms.
* Atlassian (TEAM): Duquesne Family Office, Coatue, Tiger Global, and Lone Pine all boosted their exposure to TEAM. The company provides platforms for teams to work smarter and faster together and famously doesn’t really rely on a salesforce to drive customer acquisition. Some of its products include Confluence and Trello for document and visual collaboration as well as Jira for project/issue tracking and a service desk. During Q3, shares provided an entry point for these funds by falling from $145 to $120 (and currently trade at the low-end of that range, around $125).
>>> Consensus Sold Positions
* Sprint (S): This wireless service provider received approval from the Department of Justice and the FCC for its merger with T-Mobile (TMUS). The deal still hasn’t closed yet, so perhaps funds merely moved capital to more compelling opportunities. Funds that liquidated S stakes include Duquesne Family Office and Farallon Capital.
* Liberty Global (LBTYK): A hedge fund darling just a few years ago, shares of this European cable giant have really fallen out of favor with various managers. Funds that dumped their entire stakes include Brave Warrior Advisors and Farallon Capital. John Malone’s cable giant has been selling off assets recently.
* Micron Technology (MU): Shares of this DRAM producer were sold-off by the likes of Duquesne Family Office and Viking Global during the third quarter.
* Wynn Resorts (WYNN): Although Steve Wynn is no longer involved in the company, the casino chain that bears his name was sold-off by funds such as Lone Pine and Maverick. The company this year opened its new Encore Boston Harbor property and reportedly was previously in talks with MGM Resorts (MGM) about selling it but those discussions fizzled.
* Mergers Closed: First Data (FDC), Red Hat (RHT), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Array Biopharma (ARRY): This list is for portfolio housekeeping more than anything. All of the above companies completed mergers in the quarter and so shares no longer trade, making it appear that various funds ‘sold’ the shares. In many cases, funds retained positions in the newly combined entities. For instance, First Data was acquired by Fiserv (FISV) and so now some funds no longer show a stake in FDC and show a ‘new’ stake in FISV).
>>> Consensus Decreased Positions
* Microsoft (MSFT): After previously being on the ‘consensus increase’ list for over an entire year, MSFT has now landed on the decrease list for two consecutive quarters. More than anything, it’s quite plausible that these are merely risk management and position sizing moves, as shares have appreciated considerably. Tiger, Hound, Maverick, Duquesne, Coatue, Viking, and Lone Pine all reduced exposure to Satya Nadella’s expanding cloud and software giant.
* Adobe Systems (ADBE): This is now the third consecutive quarter this stock graces this list. Funds that trimmed exposure to this content creation specializer include Duquesne, Maverick, Viking, Third Point, Coatue, and Lone Pine. Much like MSFT above, ADBE shares have outperformed considerably and it’s very likely position sizes have swelled for many of these firms. The bull thesis on this name has been two-fold: in a world increasingly driven by content creation and consumption, ADBE makes the ‘pick axes’ in this gold rush (software for content creators). The second leg of the thesis is that ADBE made the shift to a subscription model and the new recurring revenue model has been a boon for the company. Adobe also just announced it will be releasing its iconic Photoshop platform on Apple’s iPad.
* Centene (CNC): Hedge funds that reduced exposure to this healthcare play include the likes of Bridger Management, Glenview Capital, Third Point, and Viking. Managed care companies in general have come under fire as Democratic presidential hopefuls tease plans of Medicare for all.