(Adds fund manager comments, price moves of homebuilder stocks)
By David Randall
NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Britain's unexpected decisionto leave the European Union spurred a global stock marketselloff that has inspired some opportunistic U.S. investors tomove in the opposite direction.
Operating on the belief that the initial rout might be anoverreaction, even in some European stocks, several fundmanagers said on Friday they were buying up shares of big bluechips, domestic companies that are insulated from a lot ofEuropean activity and even European companies that might havebeen oversold.
"We are looking to put cash to work in some of our favoritecompanies which are cheaper today," said Kevin Dreyer, theco-chief investment officer at Gamco Investors Inc, notingholdings such as razor blade and sunscreen-maker EdgewellPersonal Care Co that were down more than 3 percent inmorning trading.
The benchmark S&P 500 was also down about 3 percent inmidday trading.
Still, some investors gravitated toward U.S. companies thatare relatively insulated from Europe and can withstand what manyexpect are coming referendums in France and Scotland over theirEU membership, as well as a summer that is expected to remainvolatile at least until the U.S. presidential election inNovember.
U.S. stocks and bonds are a "great" buying opportunity onBrexit, said Gregory Peters, a senior investment officer atPrudential Fixed Income with more than $621 billion of assets.
"Uncertainty will be a multi-year event, which will clearlybenefit the U.S. from rates to risk assets (except forfinancials), as the U.S. will benefit from capital flows," hesaid.
Several fund managers said they were drawn to U.S. companiesthat had little exposure to Europe.
John Boland of Maple Capital Management, an investmentmanager based in Vermont, said his firm has been consideringsome stocks that look too beaten-down because of Brexit-inducedturmoil. For example, he bought shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill when it was below $400 a share early Friday.
"They're a U.S.-focused company, so it was illogical forthem to be down. That's what we're looking for, companies thathave no ties or minimal ties to the EU market," Boland said.
Salesforce.com Inc "looks to be the most mispricedbased on the Brexit vote" among technology stocks because Europeaccounts for only 17 percent of its revenue, FBN Securitiessaid. And Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager at Hodges CapitalManagement, said he had put in buy orders Friday for companiessuch as Home Depot Inc that are more domesticallyoriented.
Those who did take a chance on European shares during aselloff that sent the Euro Stoxx 50 index of blue-chips downabout 7 percent said they focused on housing and infrastructurecompanies that could come out of any 'Brexit'-induced recessionin a better position.
"There's a significant demand for new housing in Britain,any new government will support it, and interest rates willremain close to zero. The housing companies with strong balancesheets will only get bigger, stronger and better after this,"said Sammy Simnegar, portfolio manager of the FidelityInternational Capital Appreciation fund.
British homebuilder stocks were particularly hard hitFriday, with Taylor Wimpey PLC dropping 29 percent andBerkeley Group Holdings PLC losing 21 percent.
Michael Underhill, a portfolio manager at RidgeWorthInvestments, said that he was buying shares of Groupe EurotunnelSE, which fell 14.5 percent, and Italian airportoperator Atlantia SpA, which declined 9 percent,because he expects the market is over exaggerating the impactthat the so-called 'Brexit' will have on European travel.
"You will see some more passport controls and highersecurity, but at the end of the day the business of logisticsand travel will keep grinding higher," he said. (Reporting by David Randall, Ross Kerber, Jennifer Ablan, NoelRandewich and Lewis Krauskopf. Writing by David Randall; editingby Linda Stern, Nick Zieminski and Bernard Orr)