Hedge funds and other institutional investors have pursued investment opportunities in a variety of sectors and industries over the past year — ranging from cosmetics to casual dining.
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on beauty-based companies such as Estée Lauder Companies and Coty in recent months; in December, MarketBeat reported that Estée Lauder Companies’ stock received a buy rating from entities such as Piper Sandler, which lifted its target price for the stock from $114 to $122 in a Sept. 30 research report.
Institutional investors also expressed optimism about the company’s stock by adding more shares. MarketBeat also reported that Headlands Technologies LLC gained a new position in Estée Lauder Companies — which sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products internationally — during the second quarter of 2024, which was valued at approximately $6,043,000.
In the third quarter, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its stake with an approximately 41% increase in shares of the company’s stock; after buying 32,215 more shares, ICICI Prudential Asset Management’s ownership rose to 111,012 shares.
Global value-oriented and event-driven hedge fund Armistice Capital also increased its position in Estée
Lauder Companies, adding 96,239 shares of the company’s stock in the
second quarter of 2024 — which brought the hedge fund’s share amount up to a
total of 182,312, a more than 111% increase from the previous quarter, MarketBeat said.
In Armistice Capital’s Sept. 30 13F filing, the fund reported that it had obtained even more Estée Lauder Companies shares — 2,160 — during the following quarter. After that purchase, Armistice Capital owned 184,472 shares of the company’s stock.
The hedge fund also pursued a new position in Coty in the second quarter of 2024. Its purchase of approximately $8,883,000 worth of shares in the company’s stock was followed by another purchase in the third quarter. Armistice Capital’s 13-F filing for that time period shows its ownership had grown from 886,524 shares of Coty’s stock to 911,706 shares. According to Nasdaq data, that equates to a roughly 3% increase.
Founded in Paris in 1904, the Coty beauty brand has a portfolio of widely recognizable product lines such as Covergirl, Max Factor, Rimmel and Sally Hansen. Coty’s fragrance, cosmetics, and skin and body care items are sold in more than 120 countries and territories.
Other Investments
Shake Shack — which MarketBeat recently reported has received a buy rating from several analysts — is another company that’s received upbeat ratings and investment interest.
The premium burger chain originated from a hot dog cart in New York City’s Madison Square Park; and now serves items such as crinkle-cut fries, shakes, and frozen custard. Shake Shack’s footprint has grown to include more than 530 locations in the U.S., London, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Equities analysts such as Truist Financial have given the fast food company’s stock a buy rating; in early January of this year, Gordon Haskett boosted Shake Shack’s rating from hold to buy and identified a $154 price objective for its stock.
In a research note issues on Jan. 7, Barclays also raised its price target for the company’s stock from $125 to $159.
In total, eight analysts have given Shake Shack stock a buy rating, and one has issued a strong buy rating, according to MarketBeat, The publication says institutional investors own more than 86% of the company’s stock; a number have obtained more shares of it in recent quarters.
Armistice Capital, for example, increased its stake in Shake Shack by more than 69% in the second quarter of 2024, for an ownership of 579,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,191,000 — the result of purchasing an additional 236,950 shares, MarketBeat said.
In the third quarter of 2024, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its Shake Shack holdings by approximately 155% — adding 395,311 more shares for a total of 650,685 shares of the company’s stock.
Foodservice isn’t the only sector that held appeal for institutional investors. Some also branched out to tech services, snatching up shares of companies such as Datadog, which provides infrastructure, network and application monitoring and other capabilities.
Institutional investors like Blue Trust Inc. gained new positions in the software-as-a-service company in the second quarter of 2024; according to MarketBeat, Blue Trust’s position had an estimated value of approximately $37,000.
Armistice Capital’s Form 13F Securities and Exchange Commission filings indicate the hedge fund shifted from owning 199,183 shares of Datadog’s stock in the second quarter to 260,000 shares in the third quarter of 2024 — which Nasdaq said was an increase of about 30%.
A total of 26 investment analysts have given Datadog’s stock a buy rating, including Stifel Nicolaus, which also raised its price target for Datadog’s stock from $141 to $165 in a research report issued clients and investors in mid-December, MarketBeat said. Two analysts have called the company’s stock a strong buy.