John Griffin's hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital has filed a short position disclosure with regulators in the UK. Per the filing, Blue Ridge is now short 0.75% of Royal Mail's (LON:RMG) shares as of September 25th. As far as we can tell, this is a newly disclosed short position.
Given the volatility in markets as of late, we're providing updates on various hedge fund short positions. You can scroll through them all by clicking here: hedge fund short positions.
The UK regulatory rules for short position disclosures state that hedge
funds must privately file when their net short position eclipses 0.2% of the
issued share capital of a company. Notification is also required again
at each 0.1% increment after that. This applies to both increases and
decreases in the position. Public disclosure is required when net short
positions reach 0.5% of issued share capital. Additionally, disclosure
is required when the position subsequently falls below 0.5%.
Per Google Finance, Royal Mail plc provides postal services. The Company's segments include UK Parcels, International & Letters (UKPIL), General Logistics Systems (GLS) and Other. The UKPIL segment provides letter and parcel services to and from countries across the world under reciprocal arrangements with other overseas postal administrations. It is also responsible for the design and production of the United Kingdom's stamps and philatelic products. The UKPIL segment includes Royal Mail Group Limited, Royal Mail Estates Limited and Royal Mail Investments Limited. The GLS segment operates in continental Europe and the Republic of Ireland and operates ground-based parcel delivery network in Europe. The GLS segment includes GLS Germany GmbH & Co. OHG, GLS Italy S.p.A. and GLS France S.A.S. The Other segment includes its subsidiaries, Romec Limited, which is engaged in facilities management; NDC 2000 Limited, a provider of design services, and Quadrant Catering Ltd, a provider of catering services.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Blue Ridge Capital Shorts Royal Mail
Friday, July 24, 2015
Prominent Hedge Funds Short Deutsche Lufthansa and Air France KLM
Various short sale disclosures in European Union markets reveal that numerous prominent hedge funds are short shares of two European airlines: Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.F) and Air France-KLM (AF).
Regulatory rules require funds to publicly disclose when they have a net short position of 0.5% of shares or greater.
Hedge Funds Short Deutsche Lufthansa AG
Senator Investment Group: Net short 0.72% of shares as of July 16th. This is up from a 0.64% position on July 15th and a 0.54% position on June 8th.
Marshall Wace: Net short 0.7% of shares as of July 22nd, 2015. This is up from a 0.64% position on July 10th and a 0.55% position on June 19th.
Blue Ridge Capital: Net short 1.02% of shares as of June 18th, 2015.
AKO Capital: Net short 0.69% of shares as of June 29th, 2015.
Discovery Capital: Net short 0.61% as of July 1st.
Lone Pine Capital: Last reported a 0.94% net short position on April 30th, 2015.
Hedge Funds Short Air France-KLM
Blue Ridge Capital: Net short 0.92% of shares as of June 23rd, 2015, an increase from the 0.73% they were short just a day earlier.
Discovery Capital: Net short 0.77% of shares as of July 2nd, 2015. Up from a 0.63% position on July 1st.
Tyrian Investments: Net short 0.42% of shares on July 1th, down from a net short position of 0.54% on March 5th, 2015.
Odey Asset Management: Net short 0.26% of shares as of July 17th. This is a decrease from the 0.58% position they had on April 21st and the 1.32% stake they had on February 19th so they've definitely taken down exposure to the name.
AKO Capital: Their last disclosure was a net short of 0.7% of shares back on February 2nd, 2015.
Marshall Wace: Their net short position size has fluctuated a lot over the past four months. Their latest disclosure shows a net short of 3.11% as of July 7th. Their short disclosures in the name go back to April 29th when they were short 2.65%.
You'll notice some overlap in funds on both airline shorts. You'll also notice another commonality: a lot of 'Tiger Cub' hedge funds, or managers with ties to Tiger Management.
While these positions could either be hedges or alpha shorts, it's still interesting to get a look at the side of the portfolio that's normally quite secretive.
Stay tuned as we reveal more short positions next week. We've already posted that Lone Pine is short Rolls Royce and Viking Global is short Peugeot. Also, Greenlight Capital is short ARM Holdings.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Blue Ridge Capital Discloses Fitbit Stake
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Fitbit (FIT). Per the filing, Blue Ridge owns 8.32% of the company with 3.5 million shares.
This is a newly disclosed position for the firm as Fitbit recently completed its initial public offering (IPO). The filing was made due to activity on June 18th.
Per Google Finance, Fitbit is "a provider of health and fitness products. The Company's Fitbit platform combines connected health and fitness devices with software and services, including an online dashboard and mobile applications, data analytics, motivational and social tools, personalized insights, and virtual coaching through fitness plans and interactive workouts. It offers a number of fitness products, including Fitbit Zip, Fitbit One, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Charge HR, Fitbit Surge and Aria. Its wrist-based and clippable devices automatically track users’ daily steps, calories burned, distance traveled, floors climbed, and active minutes and display real-time feedback to encourage them to become more active in their daily lives. Fitbit Premium is its membership that serves as an around the clock virtual personal trainer delivered to users through any Web browser. It operates FitStar, a provider of interactive video-based exercise experiences on mobile devices and computers."
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Blue Ridge Capital Discloses Platform Specialty Products Position
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC and disclosed a position in Platform Specialty Products (PAH). Per the filing, Blue Ridge now owns 7.72% of the company with 8 million shares.
As we detailed previously, Bill Ackman also owns a PAH stake. The company was formed to acquire companies and their first deal was MacDermid, a specialty chemicals manufacturer. Shares of PAH are newly listed on the NYSE.
It's unclear if Blue Ridge owned a stake in Platform Specialty Products before they listed on the NYSE like Ackman did.
You can view other recent portfolio activity from Blue Ridge Capital here.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Blue Ridge Capital Starts PBF Energy Stake
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital filed a 13G with the SEC on shares of PBF Energy (PBF). Per the filing, the hedge fund now shows a 7.82% ownership stake in the company with 3,095,000 shares.
This is a brand new position for Blue Ridge as they did not own a stake as of the end of the third quarter. The filing was required due to portfolio activity on December 10th.
Per Google Finance, PBF Energy is "an independent petroleum refiners and suppliers of unbranded transportation fuels, heating oils, petrochemical feedstocks, lubricants and other petroleum products in the United States. The Company produces a range of products at each of its refineries, including gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), heating oil, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemicals and asphalt. The Company sells its products throughout the Northeast and Midwest of the United States, as well as in other regions of the United States and Canada, and are able to ship products to other international destinations."
You can view additional recent portfolio activity from Blue Ridge here.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Blue Ridge Capital Discloses Zulily Stake
John Griffin's hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital recently filed a 13G with the SEC and disclosed a new stake in Zulily (ZU). Per the filing, Blue Ridge now owns 6.05% of the company with 799,811 shares.
The company recently completed its initial public offering (IPO) on November 14th. It priced at $22 per share, above the expected range, and now trades around $38.
Per Google Finance, Zulily is "an e-commerce company. The Company, through its desktop and mobile Websites and mobile applications, which it refers to as its sites, helps its customers discover new and unique products. The Company provides moms with a selection of over 4,500 product styles offered on a typical day through various flash sales events, which are limited-time curated online sales of selected products launched each day on its sites. The Company offers merchandise primarily targeted at moms purchasing for their children, themselves and their homes. Its merchandise includes children’s apparel, women’s apparel, and other product categories, such as toys, infant gear, kitchen accessories and home decor The Company sources its merchandise from thousands of vendors, including emerging brands and smaller boutique vendors, as well as larger national brands.The Company offers merchandise primarily targeted at moms purchasing for their children, themselves and their homes."
We've posted additional recent portfolio activity from Blue Ridge here.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Blue Ridge Capital Adds to Avis Budget Group Stake
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Avis Budget Group (CAR). Per the filing, Blue Ridge now owns 6.17% of the company with 6,613,700 shares.
This marks a 56% increase in their position size since the end of the third quarter. The filing was required due to activity on November 13th.
Last week, our premium Hedge Fund Wisdom newsletter drew attention to the fact that Blue Ridge had been increasing its stake in CAR in Q3, and now they've acquired even more shares in Q4. Additionally, CAR was analyzed in the Q2 issue of our newsletter and new subscribers can access that as well.
Per Google Finance, Avis Budget Group "operates two brands in the global vehicle rental industry through Avis and Budget. Avis is a rental car supplier positioned to serve the commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry and Budget is a rental car supplier focused primarily on more value-conscious segments of the industry. It operates in three segments: North America, consisting of its Avis and Budget car rental operations in the United States and its Avis and Budget vehicle rental operations in Canada; International, consisting of its Avis and Budget vehicle rental operations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, South America, central America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, and Truck Rental, consisting of its Budget truck rental operations in the United States."
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Notes From Virginia Investment Symposium 2013: Julian Robertson, Paul Tudor Jones & John Griffin
The University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce recently held its 2013 Spring Symposium entitled "Investing in Markets, Society, and Ourselves: Views from Investment Masters." The panelists included hedge fund legends Julian Robertson of Tiger Management, Paul Tudor Jones of Tudor Investment Corp and John Griffin of Blue Ridge Capital.
Market Folly obtained access to a recording of the event through a Freedom of Information Act request and we wanted to highlight some brief notes and pearls of wisdom from these great investors.
Notes From UVa's Spring Investment Symposium 2013
Julian Robertson (Tiger Management)
On starting his fund: He founded the firm with $8 million and at its peak managed $22 billion. He noted how there wasn't as much short selling going on when he started. He also said shorting is much harder today and back then you essentially had interest rate arbitrage on your shorts because interest rates were so much higher than dividends.
Julian says he learned from Bob Wilson, who he labeled as one of the first hedge fund managers out there.
On traits he looked for in making hires at Tiger: "We found out subsequently some real personality traits: competitiveness is right up there with brains and honesty."
As our Hedge Fund Wisdom newsletter drew attention to, Robertson recently sold out of Apple (AAPL) and he mentioned that at the event. He says it's because he went back and re-read the book on Steve Jobs and realized his importance to the company as an innovator.
On the other hand, Robertson continues to like Google (GOOG) and thinks it's a great company. He joked he can't wait to get some Google Glasses. He also mentioned he still owns Daiwa Securities (TYO:8601) and has for a long time.
He says he feels you have to be playing Japan now given the policies there and notes that someone he knows is starting an all-Japan hedge fund.
Robertson called the hedge fund business 'a lifesaver' after losing his wife as he's been re-energized seeding managers and looking at businesses/investment ideas.
Paul Tudor Jones (Tudor Investment Corp)
He emphasized his focus on technical analysis as that's the method he learned for trading commodities originally. He said, "I have one strong rule and that is when it comes to a stock if it's
above the 200 day moving average, I'm gonna be long it, and if it's
below it, I'm either not gonna own it or I'm gonna be short it, period
end of story and I just let that govern every single thing that I do."
On crashes/financial crises:
"The crash of 1987 was a 100% derivatives inspired event. So someone from my background, that came from trading futures, it was very easy for me to see what was about to transpire, because I understood that at that point in time, the tail was going to wag the dog. If you look at the biggest financial crises of the past three decades, generally speaking they've been derivatives inspired. Because that's the easiest way to bring knowingly and unknowingly a huge amount of leverage into any kind of particular instrument and it's the leverage that brings the volatility."
On Japan: Jones says to watch late next year for verification if Japan has been able to reduce their debt-to-GDP. He said, "If it doesn't work, and all of a sudden they have a debt crisis, I would think you could just take 35% off all equity markets, including this one, by the time that one unwinds."
He also thinks Europe is pretty interesting with all the central bank action over there.
On when he might retire: He originally planned to potentially retire when his last child graduated from college, but he really enjoys the business and sees it as the biggest game in the world. He wants to hang around to see how the Japan situation plays out. He said, "I think the next few years are gonna be, I think some of the most exciting times for macro in the last couple of decades."
On long/short strategies: "When I think of long/short business, to me there's 5 ways to make money: 2 of those are you either play mean reversion, which is what a lot of long/short strategies do, or you can play momentum/trend, and that's typically what I do. We've seen cheap companies get cheaper many, many times. If something's going down, I want to be short it, and if something's going up, I want to be long it. The sweet spot is when you find something with a compelling valuation that is also just beginning to move up. That's every investor's dream."
Tudor Jones also noted that it's hard for a macro trader to not be perpetually long the US dollar against the South African Rand.
On short selling: "I spent 20 years doing it, it's not the right way to make a living trading. It's simply not. And I've done really well on the short side. There's nothing more exciting than a bear market. But it's not a wonderful way for long-term health and happiness."
John Griffin (Blue Ridge Capital)
Griffin moderated the panel, though he also added some anecdotes of his own.
On Tiger's hiring practices: "Julian was always willing to take a risk on people who knew nothing if he felt they had characteristics of integrity, competitiveness, smart, and would be interested in the business. And I think in someways that was a breakthrough back then."
Griffin impersonating Robertson after he initially met Andreas Halvorsen (who worked at Tiger and eventually founded Viking Global): "Well, I mean, he may be one of the smartest people I've ever met, that's number one. Number two, he's one of the most aggressive person I've ever met."
Griffin cited mentoring and having the open office layout at Tiger as some of the biggest reason for its success and the success of people who left to start their own funds.
Adding on to Jones' comments about Europe, Griffin said that if Draghi follows actions of other banks then "Europe stocks would fly because they're half the valuations."
Griffin also basically confirmed what everyone largely knew already: that Tiger alums often talk and share ideas. He said Julian would call him and ask him for his favorite short idea then joked that after he told him the idea Julian would take off before Griffin could get Julian's best idea.
On investing: "In stock investing, the way I do it, because I'm not an activist, you're completely helpless. You buy the stock, and if you don't like what the company's doing, you can sell the stock ... In investing, the only way to be really good at it, you have to accept the fact that everything is greater than yourself. If it ever becomes anything to do with your action, unless you're an activist, you're smoked. You're a taker. The markets are like the ocean... you can't be in a boat and say 'bring it on' to the ocean."
Investment Pitches
Two current students and one former student pitched investment ideas to the panel:
1. Long ADT (ADT): They highlight ADT's position as the market leader in a fragmented industry and cited their dealer network as compelling. The main part of the thesis centers around the company's new Pulse product where people can turn off lights and control other household functions in addition to home security from their smartphones.
While the street is seeing 30% adoption rate of this system, dealers they spoke to are seeing 80% installation rates. They think concerns from competition from cable companies like Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) is overblown as they've tried to enter the business in the past and haven't been as successful.
2. Short Canon (CAJ): Melting ice cube short as the company faces lower unit sales & average selling prices, as well as increased competition. They think that smartphones are replacing 'point and shoot' cameras and that mirrorless cameras will be favored over DSLR cameras.
They also cite the company's weak printer market and think the conservative management team is a drag on the stock. Julian Robertson said he thinks it's a very good idea.
3. Short Truworths: Additionally, a former UVa student and former analyst at John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital, Hoda Alibair, came up and presented a negative view on South Africa's lenient consumer credit policies.
She highlighted that 66% of the GDP is from household expenditure and there's been a significant growth in unsecured lending and 76% of households are running at a 76% household debt to income ratio. So what's the best way to play this?
She noted how the tendency would be to short the banks exposed to this (and we highlighted how Conatus Capital's David Stemerman said to short African Bank at the Ira Sohn Investment Conference).
She instead looked for other plays on this in the consumer sector and she laid out the case to short TruWorks. She says the company has peak margins that just aren't sustainable. Zara, a big retail competitor, is just now moving in to the country as well. Over 60% of Truworths' growth came from a brand called Identity, and these consumers are truly low-income consumers.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Blue Ridge Capital Starts Endo Health Solutions (ENDP) Position
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital filed a 13G with the SEC and just disclosed a 5.98% ownership stake in Endo Health Solutions (ENDP) with 6,635,000 shares.
This is a brand new position for the hedge fund as they did not report a stake at the end of 2012 in the last portfolio disclosures. The filing was required due to portfolio activity on April 30th.blue rid
Per Google Finance, Endo Health is "a specialty healthcare solutions company focused on branded and generic pharmaceuticals, devices and services. The Company has a portfolio of branded pharmaceuticals that includes brands, such as Lidoderm , Opana ER, Voltaren Gel, Percocet , Frova , Supprelin LA, Vantas , Valstar and Fortesta Gel."
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital Discloses New Stake in Workday (WDAY)
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Workday (WDAY). Per the filing, Blue Ridge has revealed a 6.87% ownership stake in WDAY with 1,798,000 shares.
This is a brand new position for the hedge fund and the company just began trading on October 15th. There's no way to know for sure if they participated in the IPO, but the reason that is important to point out is because shares spiked 70% from the IPO price so there's obviously a big difference in cost basis depending on where they purchased shares.
Due to portfolio activity on October 18th, Blue Ridge crossed the threshold that requires public disclosure of their stake. Workday competes in the software as a service (SaaS) segment.
Per Google Finance, Workday is "a provider of enterprise cloud-based applications for human capital management (HCM), payroll, financial management, time tracking, procurement and employee expense management. It is focused on the consumer Internet experience and cloud delivery model. Its applications are designed for global enterprises to manage complex and dynamic operating environments."
We've also covered other recent portfolio activity from Blue Ridge as well.
Monday, October 22, 2012
John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital Boosts Owens Corning Position
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital recently filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Owens Corning (OC). Per the filing, Blue Ridge has revealed a 5.63% ownership stake in OC with 6,670,000 shares.
This marks a 162% increase in the amount of shares they own as the firm has added over 4.1 million more shares since the end of the second quarter. This disclosure was required due to portfolio activity on October 9th.
Blue Ridge has purchased a few industrial and economically-sensitive stakes as of late and we posted about how Blue Ridge bought shares of Colfax (an industrial manufacturing company) and also increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials (a materials producer).
Per Google Finance, Owens Corning is "engaged in composite and building materials systems, delivering a range of products and services. The Company’s products range from glass fiber used to reinforce composite materials for transportation, electronics, marine, infrastructure, wind-energy and other markets to insulation and roofing for residential, commercial and industrial applications. The Company operates in two segments: Composites, which includes its reinforcements and downstream businesses, and Building Materials, which includes its insulation and roofing businesses."
For more from this hedge fund, be sure to check out Blue Ridge's recommended reading list.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital Buys Colfax (CFX)
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital filed a 13G with the SEC after market close yesterday disclosing a brand new position in Colfax (CFX).
Per the filing, Blue Ridge now owns 5.73% of the company with 5,370,000 shares due to portfolio activity on July 6th. They did not own a position at the end of the first quarter, so they've built this position somewhere between April and July.
In other activity from this fund, we've detailed how Blue Ridge was buying Martin Marietta Materials as well.
Per Google Finance, Colfax is "a global industrial manufacturing and engineering company. The Company
provides gas- and fluid-handling and fabrication technology products and
services to commercial and governmental customers worldwide under the
Howden and ESAB brand names and by Colfax Fluid Handling. Colfax’s
products are marketed principally under the brand names Allweiler,
Baric, Fairmount Automation, Houttuin, Imo, LSC, COT-Puritech, Portland
Valve, Tushaco, Warren and Zenith."
For more from John Griffin's firm, check out Blue Ridge's recommended reading list.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Blue Ridge Capital Buys More Martin Marietta Materials (MLM): John Griffin Versus David Einhorn
John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital filed a 13G with the SEC regarding their position in Martin Marietta Materials (MLM). Per the filing, Blue Ridge has disclosed a 5.53% ownership stake in MLM with 2,530,000 shares.
This marks an increase in their share count by 36% since the end of March. Back then, Griffin's firm owned a position worth over $138 million. However, since then shares have fallen from around $85 to current levels of $68. Blue Ridge's additional shares means their stake is now worth around $173 million.
David Einhorn Bearish On Martin Marietta Materials
We always love when two prominent managers have a dichotomy of opinion on a certain name. It's what truly makes a market and in this case we have John Griffin & Blue Ridge long shares of MLM versus David Einhorn and Greenlight Capital who is bearish on the name.
At the Ira Sohn Conference (see notes here) last month, David Einhorn was bearish on shares of MLM. He argued that the company's multiple is too high (at the time a 35 P/E). Einhorn also said that one-time fiscal stimulus has goosed earnings.
Since his presentation talked about tons of stocks, that's all he mentioned about MLM in particular and he's presumably short the stock. MLM shares tanked 10% the day Einhorn made his presentation.
Long Thesis on MLM?
While we obviously don't know Blue Ridge's specific thesis for being long Martin Marietta Materials, Tom Russo of Gardner, Russo & Gardner made comments regarding why the company is attractive.
In an interview with Columbia Business School, Russo said that "(MLM's) business, stone quarrying, tends toward natural monopolies. It is very expensive to haul stone on a truck and stone isn't valuable enough to allow it to recoup shipping costs. Within 25 miles is about the only distance that you can draw from to get stone ... so if you own a quarry in an urban region, you have a very valuable asset."
The company tried to complete a $4.5 billion hostile takeover of rival Vulcan Materials (VMC) but it fell through. The company has appealed and many argue they only have a small glimmer of hope as it heads to Delaware's Supreme Court.
Per Google Finance, Martin Marietta Materials is "a producer of aggregates for construction industry, including infrastructure, nonresidential, residential, railroad ballast, agricultural, and chemical grade stone used in environmental applications."
For more on John Griffin, check out Blue Ridge Capital's recommended reading list.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
John Griffin's Blue Ridge Loads Up on Level 3 Communications (LVLT)
John Griffin's hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC on shares of Level 3 Communications (LVLT). Due to portfolio activity on May 13th, Blue Ridge has disclosed a 5.74% ownership stake in LVLT with 97,805,000 shares.
This marks a whopping 434% increase in their position size. Griffin's firm owned 18,305,000 shares back on March 31st, so the recent addition took place somewhere within the past two months. We've just detailed the rest of Blue Ridge's updated portfolio in the new issue of our newsletter: Hedge Fund Wisdom.
Per Google Finance, Level 3 Communications is "is engaged in the communications business. The Company is a facilities based provider of a range of integrated communications services."
To learn to invest like Griffin, check out Blue Ridge's recommended reading lists.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Hedge Funds Active in Aurelian Oil & Gas (AUL): Soros, Toscafund, Blue Ridge Capital
Shares of Aurelian Oil and Gas (LON: AUL) in London have seen some active trading by hedge funds as of late. Aurelian held a placing on November 25th where they issued 146,888,231 additional shares and proceeds from the offering raised €100 million.
On the 6th of December, Soros Fund Management (George Soros' hedge fund) then revealed that they boosted their holdings in the company above the 3% threshold that requires a disclosure. Soros disclosed an ownership stake of 4.36% of shares outstanding and it's unclear if this is a new or previously held stake. Regarding other portfolio activity from this hedge fund, we also detailed Soros' purchase of more Exar Corp (EXAR).
Per a second hedge fund filing in the UK regulatory system, Martin Hughes' Toscafund Asset Management noticeably ramped up its stake in Aurelian. They now hold 11.02% of shares outstanding, having previously owned only 3.25% at the end of September.
And where there are buyers, there are always sellers. John Griffin's hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital has been a seller here. Previously, Blue Ridge held 5.59% of the company but they have since sold below the 3% ownership threshold that requires disclosure. So, it's tough to say if they still hold a stake or completely exited the position. However, it's very clear that they have at the very least trimmed their position in sizable fashion. You can view the rest of Blue Ridge's portfolio in our new newsletter issue.
Per Google Finance, Aurelian Oil and Gas is "an upstream oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Central Europe. It holds a portfolio of licensed blocks in Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria and is exploring and appraising the blocks for hydrocarbon deposits."
Be sure to also check out all of our coverage of hedge fund activity in UK markets.
Friday, December 3, 2010
John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital Discloses MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals Stake (MBRKQ)
John Griffin's hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital just filed a 13G with the SEC regarding MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals (MBRKQ). Per portfolio activity on November 22nd, Blue Ridge has disclosed a 8.05% ownership stake in MBRKQ with 6,969,697 shares. You can see commentary and analysis of Blue Ridge's other investments in the just-released issue of our newsletter.
It's difficult to discern whether or not this is a brand new position for Griffin's hedge fund. Securities traded on the pink sheets (like MiddleBrook is) aren't deemed reportable assets on 13F filings. So in their most recent 13F, Blue Ridge doesn't show a position in MBRKQ. However, if an investment firm were to acquire over 5% of a company's shares outstanding, they would have to file the respective 13G/D with the SEC, even if it's traded on the pink sheets (just as Blue Ridge has done). Readers will recall a similar scenario in the past when Bill Ackman's Pershing Square did not disclose their General Growth Properties stake (GGWPQ back then) on their 13F filing, but did disclose it in a 13D.
So, while it's unclear as to when Blue Ridge originally purchased MBRKQ, they have quite a sizable stake now, with recent enough activity to force the disclosure of the position due to crossing the ownership threshold amount.
This transaction is intriguing for a few reasons. First, Blue Ridge files 13G's or 13D's on a much less frequent basis than many other hedge funds we track as they don't seem to take concentrated positions as frequently. Second, MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals is a micro-cap company ($5 million market cap) and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April of this year. Their restructuring will be something to watch.
Griffin founded Blue Ridge after leaving Julian Robertson's Tiger Management and is known as one of the successful 'Tiger Cubs.' For more from his fund, check out Blue Ridge's recommended reading list.
Per Google Finance, MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals is "a pharmaceutical company focused on commercializing anti-infective drug products that fulfill unmet medical needs. The Company has developed a delivery technology called PULSYS, which enables the pulsatile delivery, or delivery in rapid bursts, of certain drugs."
Thursday, May 20, 2010
John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital Bets Big on Google (GOOG): 13F Filing Q1 2010
(This post is part of our series on tracking hedge fund portfolios. If you're unfamiliar with tracking investments they disclose via SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund filings.)
Next up is John Griffin's hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital. Griffin attended the University of Virginia for undergrad and Stanford for his MBA. Prior to founding Blue Ridge, Griffin served as Julian Robertson's right-hand man at legendary hedge fund Tiger Management.
The positions listed below were Blue Ridge's long equity, note, and options holdings as of March 31st, 2010 as filed with the SEC. All holdings are common stock unless otherwise denoted:
Brand New Positions
Apollo Group (APOL)
Increased Positions
Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX): Increased position by 180.5%
Reduced Positions
Positions They Sold Out of Completely
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Top 15 Holdings (by percentage of assets reported on 13F filing)
Assets reported on the 13F filing were $6.1 billion this quarter. Data from the SEC is aggregated and sorted automatically by Alphaclone, our source for hedge fund tracking, replicating, and performance backtesting (Market Folly readers can receive a special free 30 day trial). Remember that these filings are not representative of the hedge fund's entire base of AUM.
This post is part of our daily hedge fund portfolio tracking series. We've already detailed activity from numerous managers so click the links below to be taken to the respective portfolio updates: Seth Klarman's Baupost Group, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, and Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, Eddie Lampert's RBS Partners, David Tepper's Appaloosa Management, and Mohnish Pabrai's Investment Fund. Be sure to check back daily for new hedge fund updates.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital Buys McDonald's, Adds To JPMorgan Chase: 13F Filing
(This post is part of our series on tracking hedge fund portfolios. If you're unfamiliar with tracking investments they disclose via SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund 13F filings.)
Next up is John Griffin's hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital. Griffin graduated from the University of Virginia and holds an MBA from Stanford. Before starting Blue Ridge, he was Julian Robertson's right hand man at legendary hedge fund Tiger Management.
Blue Ridge invests in dominant companies and shorts those that have fundamental problems, all in search of absolute returns. Blue Ridge generally puts an investment into one of two categories: catalyst driven or time arbitrage. They realize that there are times where markets will be mis-priced as investment time horizons compress more than normal. They like to look for situations where people 'stop thinking.' To learn to invest like John Griffin, check out hedge fund Blue Ridge's recommended reading list.
The positions listed below were Blue Ridge's long equity, note, and options holdings as of December 31st, 2009 as filed with the SEC. Note that we are only covering the major portfolio maneuvers. All holdings are common stock unless otherwise denoted.
Brand New Positions
McDonald's (MCD)
Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA)
Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Teradata (TDC)
Credicorp (BAP)
Ares Capital (ARCC)
Xinyuan Real Estate (XIN)
TD Ameritrade (AMTD)
Liberty Media (LSTZA)
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR)
Washington Federal (WFSL)
First Niagara (FNFG)
Iberiabank (IBKC)
Increased Positions
JPMorgan Chase (JPM): Increased by 48.7%
Dollar Tree (DLTR): Increased by 22.7%
Range Resources (RRC): Increased by 19.4%
Crown Castle (CCI): Increased by 7.5%
Reduced Positions
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A): Reduced by 54.9%
Monsanto (MON): Reduced by 45.3%
Gold Miners ETF (GDX): Reduced by 42.8%
Equinix (EQIX): Reduced by 36.8%
iShares Silver Trust (SLV): Reduced by 36.1%
Blackrock (BLK): Reduced by 28.8%
Pfizer (PFE): Reduced by 24.4%
Visa (V): Reduced by 37.9%
Removed Positions (Sold out completely):
Palm (PALM)
Wynn Resorts (WYNN)
Exterran Holdings (EXH)
Whole Foods (WFMI)
RenaissanceRe (RNR)
Broadridge Financial (BR)
Top 15 Holdings by percentage of assets reported on 13F filing
- JPMorgan Chase (JPM): 6.78%
- Apple (AAPL): 5.52%
- Crown Castle (CCI): 5.49%
- Amazon (AMZN): 5.31%
- McDonald's (MCD): 4.53%
- Western Union (WU): 4.36%
- CME Group (CME): 4.16%
- Millipore (MIL): 4.12%
- Pfizer (PFE): 3.93%
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO): 3.87%
- Microsoft (MSFT): 3.53%
- Express Scripts (ESRX): 3.12%
- Discovery Communications (DISCA): 3.07%
- Covanta (CVA): 2.95%
- Range Resources (RRC): 2.74%
Griffin's hedge fund also seems to be playing the online brokerage theme by adding shares in both TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab. Competition in this industry has definitely heated up as of late as brokers slash commission prices in an effort to retain/gain customers. Turning to core positions, we note that Blue Ridge has held positions in Apple, Western Union, Millipore, Thermo Fisher, and Pfizer at the top end of their portfolio for multiple quarters now.
Their sale of Palm is notable as we've seen lots of pessimism surrounding this name as of late and many hedge funds out there have shorted Palm. Other complete sales were in casino Wynn Resorts and in grocer Whole Foods. Blue Ridge also reduced exposure across a number of names including Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Monsanto. We found this intriguing because many hedge funds have been buying BRK while Blue Ridge reduced their size. On the Monsanto play, Blue Ridge joins a slew of other hedge funds that have been selling MON shares.
Although Blue Ridge barely added to their position in Crown Castle, we highlight it because it is now one of their largest positions and they have held it for 3+ quarters now. For those tracking these funds for investment ideas, it's always key to identify a fund's core holdings that they are less likely to turnover frequently. In fact, many hedge funds are bullish on tower stocks as we've highlighted recently.
Blue Ridge is a part of the 'Tiger Cub' portfolio created with Alphaclone where you can replicate top hedge fund positions. We've been very impressed with the solid backtested returns and current market outperformance.
For investing insight from Blue Ridge, we highly recommend checking out their suggested reading list. Assets from the collective holdings reported to the SEC via 13F filing were $5.3 billion this quarter compared to $4.4 billion last quarter, so a noticeable increase in long invested assets. Remember that these filings are not representative of the hedge fund's entire base of assets under management.
We'll be tracking 40+ prominent funds in our fourth quarter 2009 hedge fund portfolio tracking series. We've already covered Seth Klarman's Baupost Group, Mohnish Pabrai's Investment Fund, Carl Icahn's hedge fund Icahn Partners, David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, and David Tepper's Appaloosa Management. Check back daily for our new updates.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital Reveals Short Position
Disclosures of short selling in UK financial companies by hedge funds have been few and far between during the last six months. However, we've been able to track down a short sale because we follow hedge fund disclosures in UK markets.
Yesterday, the London Stock Exchange news service revealed that John Griffin’s Blue Ridge Capital was short 0.24% of Legal and General's common shares (FTSE: LGEN) on the 8th of January. This is a rare glance into a prominent hedge fund's short book as these firms typically keep these positions closely guarded. However, when they are required to file a disclosure (as is the case here), we get an occasional taste. You can view the rest of Blue Ridge's portfolio here.
Blue Ridge is not the only hedge fund shorting Legal and General as London based hedge fund manager Meritor Capital also held a 0.37% short position on the 8th of January. Meritor are fundamental stock-pickers that place emphasis on understanding businesses at ground level and meeting regularly with company management. They support this process with retained advisers, industry consultants and field visits.
Fellow UK hedge fund firm Lansdowne Partners have also had a short position in Legal and General fairly recently as they were short 1.76% of LGEN's shares on the 11th of November 2009. See our coverage of Lansdowne's portfolio here.
Just yesterday we talked about the fact that many hedge funds took it on the chin from their short positions in 2009 and examined the common link in companies they were shorting. There has always been an aura of mystique around short selling given the high level of secrecy. So, when we finally get a chance to see what they're shorting, it's exciting. We've gotten tastes of this recently when we saw some short positions from Whitney Tilson's hedge fund T2 Partners, and in the past through Bill Ackman's short of Realty Income, and David Einhorn's short of the ratings agencies. We'll continue to reveal these positions as we find them.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
John Griffin's Hedge Fund Blue Ridge Capital Fancies JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
This is the third quarter 2009 edition of our hedge fund portfolio tracking series. If you're unfamiliar with tracking hedge fund movements or SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund 13F filings.
Next up in our series is John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital. Blue Ridge seeks absolute returns by investing in companies who dominate their industries and shorting the companies who have fundamental problems. Both Griffin at Blue Ridge and Lee Ainslie over at Maverick Capital like to effectively hedge with a solid balance of both long and short positions (like a true hedge fund... not like some of the crazy funds these days that aren't truly hedged).
Griffin graduated from the University of Virginia and received his MBA from Stanford. And, like many other hedge funds we cover on the site, Griffin is a 'Tiger Cub' as he previously plied his trade under Julian Robertson as his former right hand man at Tiger Management. For more on how to think and analyze like Griffin and Blue Ridge, check out their recommended reading lists. They've laid out their top reads in four categories presented below:
- Behavioral Finance reading
- Analytical recommended reads
- Economics recommendations
- Historical/Biographical recommendations
Keep in mind that the positions listed below were Blue Ridge's long equity, note, and options holdings as of September 30th, 2009 as filed with the SEC. We don't cover every single portfolio maneuver, as we instead focus on all the big moves. All holdings are common stock unless otherwise denoted.
Some New Positions
Brand new positions that they initiated last quarter:
JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX)
Dollar Tree (DLTR)
Equinix (EQIX)
Pennymac Mortgage (PMT) ~ we detailed this position previously when they first revealed it
Some Increased Positions
Positions they already owned but added shares to:
Range Resources (RRC): Increased by 174.7%
Express Scripts (ESRX): Increased by 147.4%
Western Union (WU): Increased by 105.4%
Monsanto (MON): Increased by 97.3%
iShares Silver Trust (SLV): Increased by 95.9%
Palm (PALM): Increased by 74%
Crown Castle (CCI): Increased by 61.3%
American Capital (ACAS): Increased by 27.5%
Amazon (AMZN): Increased by 31.7%
Some Reduced Positions
Stakes they sold shares in but still own:
RenaissanceRe (RNR): Reduced position by 75.3%
Broadridge Financial (BR): Reduced by 70.4%
Apple (AAPL): Reduced by 31.2%
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): Reduced by 18.5%
Removed Positions
Positions they sold out of completely:
Schering Plough (SGP)
Vale (VALE)
National Oilwell Varco (NOV)
State Street (STT)
Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Partnerre (PRE)
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM)
VMWare (VMW)
Axis Cap (AXS)
Goldcorp (GG)
Newmont Mining (NEM)
Yamana Gold (AUY)
Harley Davidson (HOG)
Wells Fargo (WFC)
Novagold (NG)
Direxion Financial Bear 3x (FAZ)
Top 15 Holdings by percentage of assets reported on 13F filing
- Apple (AAPL): 5.83%
- JPMorgan Chase (JPM): 5.75%
- Pfizer (PFE): 5.68%
- Amazon (AMZN): 5.36%
- Western Union (WU): 5.26%
- Crown Castle (CCI): 4.92%
- Millipore (MIL): 4.81%
- CME Group (CME): 4.58%
- Microsoft (MSFT): 4.29%
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO): 4.25%
- Blackrock (BLK): 4.17%
- Visa (V): 4.04%
- Discovery Communications (DISCA): 3.47%
- Express Scripts (ESRX): 3.36%
- Covanta (CVA): 3.33%
The main portfolio change to make note of was their brand new stake in JPMorgan Chase (JPM) which they brought all the way up to their second largest holding at 5.75% of their reported longs. The trade in hedge fund land has been long moneycenter banks and short regional banks for some time and this position sticks to that theme. Additionally, Blue Ridge's stake in Apple (AAPL) is quite sizable. Even though they sold off a third of their position, it still remains their top holding at 5.83% of their holdings.
John Griffin's hedge fund also boosted their holdings in Express Scripts which is notable since many other Tiger Cub portfolios own this name including Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global. And while their brand new stake in Equinix (EQIX) only landed at their 26th largest holding, we highlight this because we've seen numerous hedge funds accumulating shares over the past few quarters and will have to see if they added more in the fourth quarter.
One other change we want to highlight Blue Ridge's fifth largest holding of Western Union (WU). While we've seen many hedge funds prefer payment processors that bear no credit risk such as Visa and Mastercard. Blue Ridge has taken a slightly different path here by playing a global money transfer company, a position they doubled down on in the third quarter. Blue Ridge also owns Visa at their 12th largest holding.
Lastly, we see they sold completely out of various gold miners and replaced those stakes with a single position in the Market Vectors Gold Miners exchange traded fund (GDX). So it seems they favored a pre-made basket via ETF instead of creating their own assembly of holdings. That pretty much wraps up the major changes in their portfolio this time around. To learn to invest like John Griffin, check out hedge fund Blue Ridge's recommended reading list.
Below you'll find graphical representations of the recent shifts in Blue Ridge Capital's portfolio courtesy of Drew Robertson at Financial Research Station:
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)Assets from the collective holdings reported to the SEC via 13F filing were $4.4 billion this quarter compared to $3.9 billion last quarter. Please keep in mind that when we state "percentage of portfolio," we are referring to the percentage of assets reported on the 13F filing. Since these filings only report longs (and not shorts or cash positions), the percentages are skewed. Also, please again note that these positions were as of September 30th so two months have elapsed and they've undoubtedly shifted around their portfolio since then.
This is just one of the 40+ prominent funds that we'll be covering in our Q3 2009 hedge fund portfolio series. We've already covered Seth Klarman's Baupost Group Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC, David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, John Paulson's firm Paulson & Co, Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital, Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global, Chase Coleman's Tiger Global and Brett Barakett's Tremblant Capital. Check back daily as we'll be covering new hedge fund portfolios.
