One of my favorite bits of bloodthirsty Wall Street behavior is the feeding frenzy when a hedge fund goes down. The first thing everyone does is check the fund's known positions, figure out where the fund is in deepest -- the biggest positions in the least liquid stocks -- and then shorts the crap out of those stocks, expecting that said flailing hedge fund will have to sell.

With the preceding macabre thought in mind, here is a (for amusement only) table I put together over the weekend of Galleon's largest positions as measured by days to trade out of positions (as of 6/20/2009). I have updated the table to include in the final column the performance of these ten stocks on Monday of this week. As you can see, the top three stocks by days-to-trade all had a crummy day yesterday.

Just Wednesday we saw a barrage (yes, a barrage) of amended 13G SEC filings from Art Samberg's hedge fund Pequot Capital. As you're well aware, Pequot Capital will be shutting down due to the negative effect ongoing investigations have had on the firm. Last week, we saw initial signs of the firm winding down as it sold the vast majority of its Akorn (AKRX) position.

While Pequot's shuttering undoubtedly means many positions will be liquidated, not all of them will be. This is due to the fact that Pequot's Matawin and Special Opportunities funds will remain open under their current managers. So, while you'll see ample selling, you won't quite see a complete wipeout of Pequot's portfolios. And, with that in mind, let's get to what the fund has been selling.

Pequot Capital Management, a highly successful and well-regarded hedge fund manager, announced yesterday that it was closing down amid on-going investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a letter yesterday to Pequot’s investors, the firm’s founder Art Samberg stated:

As you know, my trading in 2001 on behalf of the Core Funds has been the subject of investigations by the SEC and US Attorney's Office. Those agencies closed their investigations in 2006 without bringing any charges, but Pequot nonetheless suffered from adverse publicity. In late 2008, the government reopened its investigation. Public disclosures about the continuing investigation have cast a cloud over the firm and have become a source of personal distraction. With the situation increasingly untenable for the firm and for me, I have concluded that Pequot can no longer stay in business as an investment advisor.

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

March 10, 2009; 5:00 pm ET

Q3 2008 Earnings Call Transcript

November 6, 2008, 5:00 pm ET

Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript

August 11, 2008 5:00 pm ET

Q1 2008 Earnings Call

May 8, 2008 5:00 pm ET