Activist Hedge Fund Stock Ideas

Updated from 9:35 a.m. EST

Great hedge funds are always seeking value for their investors, and ultimately strong returns for themselves. Hedge funds differ from their traditional counterparts, mutual funds, in part because they have much more concentrated portfolios and fewer assets under management. This structure forces hedge funds to really find those hidden diamonds from which to extract value in the market.

Stockpickr has created a portfolio highlighting some potential diamond-in-the-rough stocks of some well-known hedge funds -- the Interesting Hedge Fund Positions.

First up is Sybase(SY Quote - Cramer on SY - Stock Picks), a stock that is owned by Sandell Asset Management.

Sybase is the large database software company with a diversified product line in telecom, financial services and database management. With 50% of all stock trades and 85% of all settlements running off of its database backend, Sybase has healthy market share compared with its much larger competitors.

CEO John Chen has been on the forefront of international growth, especially in Asia. Great international growth aided by a positive currency conversion rates have translated into strong earnings. Sybase last week beat analysts' sales and profit estimates. Looking ahead, it projects first-quarter revenue of $240 million to $250 million and earnings, excluding items, of 30 cents to 35 cents a share. Analysts have been projecting $246.3 million and 33 cents a share.

Currently, Sandell Asset has been very active in Sybase, sending management multiple letters regarding potential business alternatives. Sandell has suggested to management a share buyback and/or a spinoff of the company's wireless messaging division as well. It's also agitating for representation on the company's board.

Sybase stepped up its share buyback in the fourth quarter, purchasing $75.3 million of stock, about $25 million more than it had planned on buying, in response to Sandell's pressure. The company plans to repurchase $50 million more in stock in the current quarter. The situation is definitely interesting and worth a look.

Another name worth looking at is SAIC(SAI Quote - Cramer on SAI - Stock Picks), a stock that is owned by both Eminence Capital and Lone Pine Capital.

SAIC is a defense contractor that provides engineering and systems integration solutions to the U.S. military, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.

SAIC, which trades near its 52-week low, has lots of synergistic ties with the government. Most of its 40,000 employees have high-level government clearance, something many other large defense contractors cannot boast. Though total earnings per share are still under $1 for 2007, SAIC is poised to win more business from the government in the coming year.

For more stock ideas, check out Interesting Hedge Fund Positions at Stockpickr.com. Other stocks that make this portfolio include Mercadolibre(MELI Quote - Cramer on MELI - Stock Picks), Parametric Technology(PMTC Quote - Cramer on PMTC - Stock Picks), Equity Residential(EQR Quote - Cramer on EQR - Stock Picks) and Crown Castle(CCI Quote - Cramer on CCI - Stock Picks).