market folly

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.