Which Funds Have Profited From GoPro's Great Year?

Although GoPro GPRO has been falling over the past couple of months, its overall performance since its IPO in June has been great. The stock is up more than 120 percent, and this has benefited several funds and institutional investors that held it since the early-days.

Fred Alger Management

Fred Alger Management was amongst the largest institutional investors in GoPro right after its IPO. By the end of the second quarter of the year, the firm declared holding 233,505 shares of Class A Stock, worth about $9.4 million.

As the stock escalated in price and peaked before the end of the third quarter of the year, Fred Alger Management sold all of its stock, making a huge profit.

Citadel Advisors

Ken Griffin’s investment management firm disclosed ownership of 148,174 shares of Class A Stock as of June 30, 2014. The stake was then worth about $6 million.

Same as in Fred Alger Management’s case, Citadel disposed of 94 percent of its stock over the third quarter, keeping just 8,000 shares. However, it invested about $150 million in options (both puts and calls).

Third Quarter Investors

Most of the third quarter of the year saw GoPro trade below its current stock price, slightly above $69. So, most funds that acquired the stock during the period have already perceived an upside (which may have been huge, or miniscule, depending on when the equity was purchased, which we don’t really know).

So, here’s a couple other funds that may have greatly benefited from GoPro’s stock surge:

Vanguard Group

The investment behemoth is one of the largest shareholders at GoPro. It disclosed ownership of 851,870 shares, or $79.8 million in stock, as of the end of the third quarter, and has not declared trimming its stake over the fourth quarter.

Although the price fell since September 30, the firm may have enjoyed healthy returns, if the stock was purchased before September 22.

Tiger Global Management

Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management also seems bullish on GoPro. The funds disclosed holding 523,250 shares by the end of the third quarter. This means that it is quite likely that the firm benefited from its investment, and the 70 percent upsurge in stock price that took place since the first day of the third quarter.