This Metric Says You Are Smart to Sell NYSE Euronext (NYX)

NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) was in 35 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. NYX investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently. There were 43 hedge funds in our database with NYX holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are a multitude of metrics market participants can use to analyze Mr. Market. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the financial markets. There are lots of motivations for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a gander at the key action surrounding NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX).

How are hedge funds trading NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 35 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -19% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Kenneth Mario Garschina’s Mason Capital Management had the biggest position in NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX), worth close to $220.5 million, accounting for 5.5% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors, with a $159.5 million position; the fund has 2.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include Robert Emil Zoellner’s Alpine Associates, Frank Brosens’s Taconic Capital and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Because NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) has witnessed a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes in Q1. Intriguingly, Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital sold off the largest investment of the 450+ funds we key on, totaling an estimated $49.1 million in stock.. Larry Foley and Paul Farrell’s fund, Bronson Point Partners, also dropped its stock, about $18.9 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 8 funds in Q1.

How have insiders been trading NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX). These stocks are Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO), CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE), Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC), NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ), and IntercontinentalExchange Inc (NYSE:ICE). All of these stocks are in the diversified investments industry and their market caps match NYX’s market cap.