5 Stocks Hedge Funds Are Betting Against Insiders

During the third quarter, the number of hedge funds holding  Jones Energy Inc (NYSE:JONE) remained constant at 12 quarter over quarter. Some of the funds holding a large number of shares in Jones Energy Inc (NYSE:JONE) include Point72 Asset Management, Magnetar Capital and Hilltop Park Associates. This oil & gas company saw a surge in its short interest by more than 25% and the number of shares short increased to 15.69 million shares with 9.3 days to cover, from 12.51 million in the previous period. Insiders on the other hand, increased their holding of the stock. JVL Associates L.L.C a beneficial owner in the company bought 9,025,270 shares in August this year, making it one of the largest shareholders of the stock with 15,629,320 shares held as of November. The stock having returned more than 14% year to date, has a mean recommendation of overweight.

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ:FRPT) saw a small 5% decline in its short interest with the 5,769,000 shares short. The days to cover down remained high at 25 days. The number of funds long on the stock remained constant at 12, though the value of their holdings declined by $0.8 million during the September-June period. Insiders remained bullish on the company despite the high short interest. Out of the total 7 insider trades during the last three months, 5 were open market buys. Cyr William was the largest insider buyer, having bought 50,382 shares during the period. The stock has surged more than 37% in the last one year, when the broader Dow Jones has returned only 7%. The company which is into the business of manufacturing and marketing of pet food across North America, reported revenues of $34.5 million which translated into an earnings of 2 cents per share for its most recent quarter. The stock has a mean overweight rating from analysts.

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