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Stockpickr's Activist Track Stocks

Stockpickr Staff

Most hedge funds are drastically underperforming the markets this year. In fact most hedge funds have underperformed the boarder markets since 2004, despite the huge bull market in stocks.

Since many hedge funds get paid based on their returns for the year, some managers who don't want to underperform turn to shareholder activism as a way to increase shareholder value and ultimately boost their returns.

Here at Stockpickr.com, we track many of the Latest Activist Situations for those interested in piggybacking these funds. We highlight a few of those situations here.

Recently, SAC Capital has accumulated 4.1 million shares, or a 5.3% stake, in Take-Two(TTWO Quote). From April 28 through June 24, SAC and its affiliates spent $68.2 million to purchase nearly 2.57 million shares at prices ranging from $25.75 to $27.78 each. So with Take-Two trading in the low $25 area, here is your chance to piggyback SAC Capital.

Take-Two, the maker of the Grand Theft Auto video game series, has a 12% short position, forward P/E of 15 and PEG of 0.99.

SAC Capital also has a very large position in Yahoo!(YHOO Quote) of about 8 million shares. Yahoo!, which is in a nasty proxy fight with Carl Icahn, has a major shareholder meeting coming up on Aug. 1. It is almost certain that SAC Capital, like other activist investors, is piggybacking on the coattails of Icahn

Next on the list is Agilysys(AGYS Quote). Ramius Capital Group recently sent a letter to Agilysys, nominating three candidates for election to the board at the 2008 annual meeting.

Agilysys, which provides IT solutions to corporate and public-sector customers, is down about 50% for the year. The company has $50 million in cash, a 15% short position and a $20 book value, which means that the company is selling substantially below its tangible book value.

With Ramius Capital Group trying to shake things up, this seems like a good snapback play.

Next on the list is Greenbrier(GBX Quote). Carl Icahn recently cut his stake in Greenbrier, from 1.53 million shares to 1.34 million shares, after disclosing that he doesn't plan to pursue a merger with Greenbrier and American Railcar(ARII Quote), in which Icahn has a 51% stake.

Next is Asyst Technologies(ASYT Quote). Noted small-cap hedge fund Riley Investment Management, announced its intention to replace six of the seven board members of Asyst Technologies. In May, Aquest Systems and Gores Group withdrew their unsolicited offer to acquire Asyst for $5 to $6 per share, saying the company declined to negotiate.

It appears that Riley Investment Management will shake things up and try to get the company to put itself on the block.

Asyst has a forward P/E of 11.65 and an 8% short position.

For more activist ideas, including Sonus Networks(SONS Quote) and Fording(FDG Quote), please check out the Latest Activist Situations portfolio at Stockpickr.com, which we update daily with the latest situations recorded by the StreetInsider.com 13D Tracker.

Also, here are the latest activist filings from Barron's.