Investor Mario Cibelli (Trades, Portfolio)’s Marathon Partners reduced its largest position, Shutterfly Inc. (SFLY, Financial), where it has been pushing for change, GuruFocus Real Time Picks reported today.
Marathon Partners trimmed the position by 10.93%, dropping its shares held to 1,670,000, or 4.5% of the company’s shares outstanding, from 2,034,800 shares, or 5.4% of the shares outstanding, reportedly held on May 18. The position occupied more than one-third of Marathon’s portfolio.
Cibelli’s firm said in the related SEC filing: “As part of Marathon Partners’ regular portfolio management process, it has recently unwound the options previously reported in the Schedule 13D and amendments thereto and has undertaken the sales reported in this Amendment No. 5 to the Schedule 13D in anticipation of a period of decreased liquidity.”
The sell transactions took place from June 8 to June 15 at prices ranging from $45.42 to $47.25 per share. Marathon has invested in the company for almost seven years, it said in an open letter on June 4, and is one of its largest shareholders.
The firm has been engaged in a heated public battle with Shutterfly in recent months, issuing a letter on June 4 ahead of the company’s annual meeting to contest what it called “completely false information” and urge shareholders to vote for its board candidates.
At the annual meeting on June 12, Cibelli and his nominee Thomas Hughes were both elected to Shutterfly’s board of directors, Cibelli said in a release announcing the new board members that he planned to work on the company’s “performance, strategic direction and executive compensation.”
Shutterfly reported a loss of $45.1 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, beating the consensus estimate of a $1.33 loss per diluted share. It also posted first quarter revenue of $160 million, for 16.7% growth from the same quarter a year ago and beating the consensus estimate of $156.2 million.
The company, which offers photo-based products and services online, saw its share price gain 11.5% over the past 12 months. It also has a P/B ratio of 2.32, coming close to the two-year low, and a P/S ratio of 1.88.
Other gurus with investments in Shutterfly include Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Manning & Napier. Notably, Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) cut his Shutterfly stake by 94.4% and Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio) sold out in the first quarter.
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