Steve Mandel and Mario Gabelli Report Top Guru Real Time Buys

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Apr 25, 2014
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The following information is a highlight of the real-time guru activity we saw this week. To view more information on these gurus, check out their guru portfolios. The “Real Time Picks” reports the stock purchases and sells that Gurus have made within the prior two weeks. If a Guru makes a purchase or sell of a company in which they own a greater-than 5% stake, SEC regulations require them to report their transaction within two days. This week we saw notable increases and buys in Real Time activity from Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio).

Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio)

Over the past week, Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio) made a notable increase in his holdings in the luxury retailer Michael Kors (KORS). The guru upped his stake 84.72% by purchasing 5,177,577 shares on April 21. The guru bought these shares at around $89.93 per share, and since his buy the price per share has increased approximately 1% to $91.14 per share.

Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio) is now the largest guru shareholder of Michael Kors, holding on to 11,289,008 shares of the company’s stock. This most recent increase gives him control of 5.56% of the company’s shares outstanding.

Mandel’s historical holding history as of the close of the fourth quarter:

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Michael Kors is a global luxury lifestyle brand led by a renowned, award-winning designer and strong management team. It operates its business in three segments: retail, wholesale and licensing. The company is headquartered in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong with its American offices headquartered in New York City.

Michael Kors’ historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Michael Kors reports that the company’s inventory has been building up, the company holds no debt and its price is near a 3-year high.

The company most recently announced its third quarter 2014 financial results in March which reported:

- Revenue increased 59% to $1 billion, up from $636.8 million last year.

- Retail net sales increased 51.3% to $503.4 million.

- Gross profit increased 61.6% to $619.5 million.

- Net income was $229.6 million, or $1.11 per diluted share.

The company also announced on April 15 that Michael Kors and Luxottica Group (LUX, Financial) had signed an exclusive eyewear license agreement for the Michael Kors Collection and MICHAEL Michael Kors eyewear. The first collection produced with Luxottica will hit stores in Jan. 2015.

Michael Kors has a market cap of $16.64 billion; its shares were traded at around $81.62 with a P/E ratio of 36.50, a P/S ratio of 6.90 and a P/B ratio of 13.80.

Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio)

Over the past week Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) made a rather large increase to his holdings in Zygo Corp. (ZIGO). The guru increased his position in the company 96.27% by purchasing a total of 284,000 shares of the company’s stock. He bought these shares at an approximate price of $19.25 per share. Since his buy the price per share is trading slightly lower at $19.22 per share.

Gabelli now holds on to 579,000 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up for 3.13% of the company’s shares outstanding. Gabelli is the second largest guru shareholder of Zygo following Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio).

Gabelli’s historical holding history:

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Zygo designs, manufactures, and distributes high-end optical systems and components for metrology and end-user applications. Zygo has two divisions: Metrology Solutions Division and Optical Systems Division. The company supplies optical metrology instruments, high precision optical components and complex electro-optical systems design and manufacturing services.

Zygo’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Zygo reports that the company’s price is near a 10-year high, its revenue has slowed down over the past year and the company currently holds no debt

Gabelli made this buy after Zygo reported on April 11 that they had entered into a definitive merger agreement under which AMETEK will acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock for $19.25 per share. Which was a premium of 31% to Zygo’s closing price on April 10, 2014.

You can view more information on this transaction here.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:

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Zygo has a market cap of $362.9 million. Its shares are currently trading at around $19.21 with a P/E ratio of 44.70 and a P/S ratio of 2.30.

Check out more guru real time picks here.

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