JAT Capital Boosts Madison Square Garden Stake Again

John Thaler's hedge fund firm JAT Capital has filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding their position in Madison Square Garden (MSG).  Per the filing, JAT now owns 9.36% of the company with over 5.95 million shares.

This marks an increase of over 1 million shares since the last time JAT increased its MSG stake last month.  The latest filing was made due to the bulk of activity on September 18th where they bought MSG at $66.10

Per Google Finance, Madison Square Garden is "a holding company conducting its operations through direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company is an integrated sports, entertainment and media business company. The Company operates in three segments: MSG Sports, MSG Media and MSG Entertainment. In March 2014, the Company purchased a 50% interest in Tribeca Enterprises."

JAT Capital Increases Madison Square Garden Stake

In an amended 13D filed with the SEC, John Thaler's hedge fund firm JAT Capital has revealed they now own 7.75% of Madison Square Garden (MSG) with over 4.93 million shares.

This is up from their previous stake of 4.28 million shares when we previously highlighted JAT's activist MSG stake.  The filing was due to activity on August 29th and they used proceeds from outstanding swaps to purchase 3.45 million shares and call options to purchase 1.47 million shares.

Per Google Finance, Madison Square Garden is "a holding company conducting its operations through direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company is an integrated sports, entertainment and media business company. The Company operates in three segments: MSG Sports, MSG Media and MSG Entertainment. In March 2014, the Company purchased a 50% interest in Tribeca Enterprises.."

JAT Capital Files 13D on Madison Square Garden (MSG)

John Thaler's hedge fund firm JAT Capital has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding shares of Madison Square Garden (MSG).  Per the filing, JAT has disclosed a 6.73% ownership stake in MSG with over 4.2 million shares.

This marks an increase of 2.6 million shares in their position size since the end of the second quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on August 12th.

The 13D filing contains the standard boilerplate that JAT may seek to engage with the board of directors.  It also notes that JAT entered into cash-settled swaps with respect to 2.9 million notional shares and call options referencing 300,000 shares.

JAT was out buying MSG stock throughout mid-August at prices ranging from $60 to $64.84.

Per Google Finance, Madison Square Garden is "a holding company conducting its operations through direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company is an integrated sports, entertainment and media business company. The Company operates in three segments: MSG Sports, MSG Media and MSG Entertainment. In March 2014, the Company purchased a 50% interest in Tribeca Enterprises."

John Thaler's JAT Capital Starts Angie's List Stake

John Thaler's hedge fund JAT Capital has disclosed a new stake in Angie's List (ANGI), per a 13G filed with the SEC.  JAT has revealed they own 5.5% of ANGI with over 3.1 million shares.  The filing was required due to activity on February 3rd.

Angie's List has been a popular short target among other hedge funds, so it seems they've taken a variant viewpoint.  JAT's primary focus has always been on the TMT sectors and Thaler launched his fund after previously working at Shumway Capital.

Per Google Finance, Angie's List is "operates a consumer-driven service for members to research, hire, rate and review local professionals for critical needs, such as home, health care and automotive services."

John Thaler's JAT Capital Buys More Molycorp (MCP)

John Thaler's hedge fund JAT Capital has been busy buying during the recent market turmoil. In a 13G filed with the SEC, JAT disclosed a 6.0% ownership stake in Molycorp (MCP) with 5,067,129 shares as of September 30th.

This marks a 226% increase in their position size as they only owned 1.5 million shares at the end of the second quarter. Last week we detailed how JAT Capital bought Netflix in size as well. It will be interesting to see if anymore filings from Thaler's fund come through. As of September 16th, JAT's Offshore Fund was up 37.29% for the year.

Per Google Finance, Molycorp is "a rare earth oxide (REO) producer in the Western hemisphere and owns a rare earth project outside of China. The Company is in development stage. The Company focuses to be an integrated producer of rare earth products, including oxides, metals, alloys and magnets. The Company’s rare earth products are used in a range of applications, including clean energy technologies, such as hybrid and electric vehicles and wind power turbines; multiple high-tech uses, including fiber optics, lasers and hard disk drives; numerous defense applications, such as guidance and control systems and global positioning systems, and advanced water treatment technology for use in industrial, military and outdoor recreation applications."

John Thaler's JAT Capital Loads Up on Netflix (NFLX)

John Thaler's hedge fund firm JAT Capital just now filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Netflix (NFLX). The hedge fund now has a 7.6% ownership stake in Netflix with 4,017,691 shares as of September 29th.

This means they've ramped up their position size by a massive 768% since the end of the second quarter. The fine print of the filing also shows that of the 4 million shares they now own, 2,617,691 are common stock and 1,400,000 are represented by options. The options portion of their position is new because they only owned 467,812 shares of common stock at the end of Q2.

This position increase is interesting for a number of reasons:

1. NFLX shares have largely sold off because of CEO Reed Hastings' recent announcement that the company will be separating its streaming business (Netflix) and its DVD business (with the newly named Qwikster). Also, NFLX shares have been under pressure due to a subscriber exodus over a recently announced price increase.

It's clear that Hastings feels that the streaming business is the future (and he's right). By separating the businesses, he's allowed the company to focus on its long-term future. However, critics question whether or not the split has come too soon and they've lambasted Hastings for a public relations nightmare in the way he's handled everything.

Thaler's hedge fund has clearly identified the NFLX sell-off as an opportunity to increase their wager on the company's long-term positioning and future. Thaler himself has 10+ years of experience in the technology-media-telecom space. Before founding JAT, he managed the Omni Fund at Shumway Capital Partners.


2. Hedge funds only have to file a 13G with the SEC when they cross the 5% ownership threshold of a given company's shares. JAT's filing indicates they crossed that level on September 20th. The only problem here is you don't know exactly when they were doing the bulk of their buying. As of September 29th, they own 7.6% of the company. On the 20th, NFLX was trading around $130 and shares currently trade around $113.


3. On Thursday, the internet was flooded with rumors of a hedge fund liquidating, mainly due to large price declines in "momentum stocks" such as NFLX. Some rumors even recklessly tossed out JAT's name as a fund that could potentially be "blowing up" since some of their other large positions were trading down sharply like Baidu (BIDU) and Sina (SINA).

However, those rumors were quickly quashed once people actually looked at JAT's numbers. As of September 16th, JAT Capital's Offshore fund was up 37.29% for the year. These performance figures of course don't include the week's most recent volatility, but we've been hearing they're still up big.


In the end, just focus on the facts. The SEC filing shows JAT was buying Netflix and they crossed the 5% ownership threshold on September 20th. And as of September 29th, they own 4 million shares via common stock and options.

For the time being, it appears as though Thaler's fund is betting on NFLX still having a bright future. In other coverage of this hedge fund, we detailed JAT's buy of IMAX in early August.

John Thaler's JAT Capital Buys More IMAX Corp (IMAX)

John Thaler's hedge fund JAT Capital just filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of IMAX Corp (IMAX). Per portfolio activity on August 22nd, JAT has disclosed a 4.6% ownership stake in IMAX with 2,979,280 shares.

Since the end of the second quarter in June, this marks a 349% increase in their position size as they've gobbled up shares. Since the end of June, shares of IMAX are down 48%.

Some managers have had somewhat of a '3D' pairs trade on by going long IMAX and short RealD (RLD), but we obviously can't see JAT's shorts.

Thaler's Background

Before he founded JAT, Thaler worked at Shumway Capital Partners (which returned capital this year). Chris Shumway himself invested in JAT's launch. Thaler covered technology, media and telecom and managed the internal Omni fund while at Shumway. Before that, he worked at Spectrum Equity Investors in private equity.

Due to his background, you'll see an emphasis on the TMT sectors in his portfolio. Thaler earned his BA in Economics from the University of Chicago. In 2008, JAT returned -5.9% and in 2009 returned 23.2% gross. This isn't the first time we've covered Thaler's fund as we've also detailed JAT's bet on social media via SINA.

Per Google Finance, IMAX is "is an entertainment technology companies, specializing in motion picture technologies and presentations. The Company’s principal business is the design and manufacture of digital theater systems (IMAX theater systems) and the sale or lease of IMAX theater systems."

John Thaler's JAT Capital Bets on Social Media with Sina (SINA) Position

John Thaler's hedge fund JAT Capital has been buying shares of Sina Corp (SINA) hand over fist. Per a 13G filed with the SEC, the hedge fund has disclosed a 5.6% ownership stake in SINA with 3,384,385 shares.

JAT has doubled its position and then some in the past few weeks as they only owned 1,455,995 shares at the end of March. And before that at the end of December, they only held 513,920 shares. Over the past six months, JAT Capital has ramped up its position by almost 560%.

Social Media Investing Boom

Sina Corp is at the crossroads of two hot investing trends: social media and China. SINA is essentially the 'Twitter of China' and with the recent LinkedIn (LNKD) IPO, the social media investing boom is here. By the way, don't forget to follow @marketfolly on Twitter for intra-day commentary and further hedge fund coverage.

Per Google Finance, Sina Corp is "an online media company and MVAS provider in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the global Chinese communities. The Company provides services through five business lines, including SINA.com (online news and content), SINA Mobile (MVAS), SINA Community (Web 2.0 and social networking-based services and games), SINA.net (search and enterprise services), and SINA E-Commerce (online shopping)."

About John Thaler/JAT Capital

Before founding JAT Capital in 2007, Thaler worked at Shumway Capital Partners where he was responsible for covering technology, media and telecom and he managed the internal Omni fund. Prior to that, he worked in private equity at Spectrum Equity Investors.

Due to this experience, it should come as no surprise that Thaler employs a fundamental research process and private equity-like approach to investing with an emphasis on tech. Thaler earned his BA in Economics from the University of Chicago.

In 2008, JAT returned -5.9% (compared to -37% for the S&P) and in 2009, Thaler's fund returned 23.2% gross.

John Thaler's JAT Capital Boosts Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) Stake

John Thaler's hedge fund JAT Capital just filed a 13G with the SEC regarding Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) due to portfolio activity on December 6th. JAT disclosed a 5% ownership stake in GMCR with 6,602,008 shares. This is an increase of 128% in their position size as they held 2,890,042 shares at the end of the third quarter. Drilling down the specifics of JAT's current position, the hedge fund firm owns 4,102,008 common shares and then their additional 2,500,000 shares are represented by call options.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is an interesting stock because it is essentially a 'battleground' of hedge fund opinion. This name has high short interest but at the same time, some notable funds hold long positions. At the end of the third quarter, some of the big holders were JAT Capital, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, Patrick McCormack's Tiger Consumer, Brett Barakett's Tremblant Capital and Steven Cohen's SAC Capital.

Prior to founding JAT Capital, John Thaler worked at Shumway Capital Partners where he covered telecom, media and technology and then managed the internal Omni fund. Thaler earned his BA in Economics at the University of Chicago. JAT employs a long/short equity strategy with an emphasis on proprietary fundamental research. In 2008, the fund returned -5.9% compared to an S&P return of -37%. JAT finished 2009 up 23.2% gross. Thaler brings a private equity-like approach to investing due to his days at Spectrum Equity Investors, a private equity firm focused on technology.

Per Google Finance, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is "engaged in the specialty coffee and coffee maker businesses. The Company operates in two business segments: the Specialty Coffee business unit (SCBU) and the Keurig business unit (Keurig). SCBU sources, produces and sells more than 200 varieties of coffee, cocoa, teas and other beverages in K-Cup portion packs and coffee in more traditional packaging, including whole bean and ground coffee selections in bags and ground coffee in fractional packs, for use both at-home (AH) and away-from-home (AFH)."

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