market folly

(Note: Before reading this update, make sure you check out the preface to the series I'm doing on Hedge Fund 13F's here)

Now we're really starting to see the 13F filings trickle in. Next up, we have Tremblant Capital Group, managed by Bret Barakett. (If his last name sounds familiar, its because his brother, Timothy Barakett, manages fellow macro fund Atticus Capital, whom I also track). Taken from their site, Tremblant Capital Group's objective is "to achieve superior risk adjust returns for our investors through our focused and disciplined investment process." Tremblant is a $4.1 billion hedge fund based in New York and is run by Bret Barakett, who is a former portfolio manager at Moore Capital Management (the hedge fund run by the great Louis Bacon, whom I also track). So, as you can see, despite having a great mind of his own, Barakett has worked with some of the best in the macro game. And, that's why he's worth following.

The following are Tremblant Capital's current holdings as of June 30th 2008, as released in their most recent 13F filing with the SEC. I've compared the positions in this most recent 13F to last quarter's 13F and here are the changes they made to their portfolio:

New Positions: (in no particular order)
Virgin Media (VMED) 528,856 shares
Shenandoah Telecom (SHEN) 184,124 shares
Petrochina (PTR) 7,016 shares
Mastercard (MA) 137,205 shares
Exide Technologies (XIDE) 211,757 shares
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 963,509 shares
China Petroleum and Chemical (SNP) 9,419 shares
Bare Escentuals (BARE) 322,555 shares


Added to:
Centennial Communications Corp (CYCL). Increased their position by 301%
Hologic (HOLX). Increased their position by 250%
Gafisa (GFA). Increased their position by 120%
Union Pacific (UNP). Increased their position by 100%
American Pub Ed Inc (APEI). Increased their position by 76%
Time Warner (TWX). Increased their position by 74%
Focus Media Holdings (FMCN). Increased their position by 56.6%
Nuance Communications (NUAN). Increased their position by 54%
Visa (V). Increased their position by 40%
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). Increased their position by 40%
Anadigics (ANAD). Increased their position by 38%
Mckesson Corp (MCK). Increased their position by 24%
Cogent Communications (CCOI). Increased their position by 15%
Hughes Communications (HUGH). Increased their position by 14%
NYSE Euronext (NYX). Increased their position by 10%
Melco Pbl Entertainment (MPEL). Increased their position by 7%
Walmart (WMT). Increased their position by 5%
Heathextras (HLEX). Increased their position by 3%


Reduced Positions:
LCA Vision (LCAV). Reduced their position by 95%
Research in Motion (RIMM). Reduced their position by 35%
Apple (AAPL). Reduced their position by 29%
ThermoFisher Scientific (TMO). Reduced their position by 28%
Pharmaceutical Prod Dev (PPDI). Reduced their position by 22%
Inverness Med (IMA). Reduced their position by 21%
CVS Caremark (CVS). Reduced their position by 18%
RedHat (RHT). Reduced their position by 15%
Monster Worldwide (MNST). Reduced their position by 11%
Suntech Power (STP). Reduced their position by 11%
Corning (GLW). Reduced their position by 8%
Qualcomm (QCOM). Reduced their position by 6%
Ntelos Holdings (NTLS). Reduced their position by 1.7%
Commscope (CTV). Reduced their position by 1.5%
Paetec Holding (PAET). Reduced their position by 1%
Pharmanet Dev Group (PDGI). Reduced their position by 0.71%


Removed Positions (Positions Tremblant sold out of completely):
Allscripts Healthcare (MDRX)
America Movil (AMX)
Cenveo (CVO)
Cirrus Logic (CRUS)
Costco (COST)
Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR)
Mercadolibre (MELI)
Priceline (PCLN)
UST Inc (UST)


Positions with no change:
Wyeth (WYE)
SXC Health Solutions (SXCI)
Navisite (NAVI)
Eclipsys Corp (ECLP)
CSX Corp (CSX)
Burlington Northern (BNI)
Advanced Med Optics (EYE)


Top 10 holdings by % of portfolio:
1. Qualcomm (QCOM)
2. Visa (V)
3. Apple (AAPL)
4. CVS Caremark (CVS)
5. RedHat (RHT)
6. Hologic (HOLX)
7. NYSE Euronext (NYX)
8. Corning (GLW)
9. Research in Motion (RIMM)
10. Baidu (BIDU)


------------------------------------------

Breakdown: Tremblant's portfolio is big on tech, and rightly so. From March until June (the period of time that passed between the filing of past & present 13F's), tech was on a rampage. So, for them to be taking some profits in those names seems natural. They cut back their AAPL and RIMM by about a third of a position, which classifies as healthy profit taking from a big move in my book. I wouldn't be surprised to see them adding back at cheaper prices what they sold. Noticeably absent from their tech portfolio is GOOG. They have BIDU instead, and a pretty large position at that (its their 10th largest holding). Hedge fund favorites AAPL, RIMM, & QCOM also make up a large part of Tremblant's portfolio overall. All 3 are top 10 portfolio holdings. What else is new?

Speaking of hedge fund favorites, we notice that MA and V make an appearance, with MA just being added this past quarter. They already had a large V stake and appear to be assembling a MA position to go along with it. Many funds seem to prefer MA to V, but not Tremblant. We'll see next quarter if their MA position catches up in size to the massive stake they have in Visa (their 2nd largest holding).

Interesting to see the Brothers Barakett (Bret at Tremblant and Timothy at Atticus) both in the house of pain with NYX. Tremblant added more this quarter and look to be averaging down again and again. I can't blame them though. NYX is a solid company that 'appears' cheap on valuation. But, in this market, nobody seems to care about that. The exchanges should be perfect plays to bet on a market with increased volatility. But, apparently they are not. Instead, they are downward spiraling deathtraps. One other commonality between the Brothers Barakett portfolios is their affection for the rails. UNP BNI and CSX all appear in Tremblants portfolio. UNP is their largest rail holding currently, as they doubled down on their stake this past quarter.

Overall, technology, communications & media, the rails, and medical plays seem to be the name of the game for Tremblant this time around.

Lastly, just wanted to note that they have abandoned America Movil (AMX). This name has been in a steady downtrend in recent months, and it looks like they gave up on the name. Last quarter and in the past in general, AMX was easily one of the most common holdings among the hedge funds I track. As the 13F's continue to come out, we'll have to see if others joined Tremblant in dumping their shares.

Tremblant Capitals' most interesting move(s)? Beefing up their general media & communications technology holdings. They added a variety of names such as CYCL, CCOI, FMCN, TWX, NUAN,VMED.

You can view Tremblant Capital's 13F as filed with the SEC here.

--

Check back in during the coming weeks as I analyze the portfolio changes to numerous big name hedge funds such as Lone Pine Capital (Steve Mandel), Moore Capital Management (Louis Bacon), Tudor Investment Corp (Paul Tudor Jones), Blue Ridge Capital (John Griffin), & many many more.