At the moment, there are dozens of methods market participants can use to analyze stocks. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can outperform the market by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of reasons for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).
Now that that’s out of the way, it’s important to study the recent info surrounding Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS).
Hedge fund activity in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 15% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS). Royce & Associates has a $46.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, which held a $9.4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management.
Now, certain money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, assembled the most valuable position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS). Royce & Associates had 46.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management also initiated a $9.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new AEIS positions are Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, and Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management.
How have insiders been trading Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS). These stocks are Methode Electronics Inc. (NYSE:MEI), Power One Inc (NASDAQ:PWER), Sanmina Corp (NASDAQ:SANM), Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:NTE), and Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE). All of these stocks are in the diversified electronics industry and their market caps resemble AEIS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Methode Electronics Inc. (NYSE:MEI) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Power One Inc (NASDAQ:PWER) | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Sanmina Corp (NASDAQ:SANM) | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:NTE) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, average investors must always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
