It was a rough third quarter for many hedge funds, which were naturally unable to overcome the big dip in the broad market, as the S&P 500 fell by about 7% during the quarter. The Russell 2000, composed of smaller companies, performed even worse, trailing the S&P by about 14 percentage points between June 25 and October 30, as investors fled less-known quantities for safe havens. This was the case with hedge funds, who we heard were pulling money from the market amid the volatility, which included money from small-cap stocks, which they invest in at a higher rate than other investors. This action contributed to the greater decline in these stocks during the tumultuous period. We will study how this market volatility affected their sentiment towards Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS) during the quarter below.
Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS) has experienced an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. ADXS was in 21 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with ADXS positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare ADXS to other stocks including IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT), Extreme Networks, Inc (NASDAQ:EXTR), and ProQR Therapeutics NV (NASDAQ:PRQR) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of metrics stock traders have at their disposal to evaluate stocks. A pair of the most innovative metrics is composed of hedge fund and insider trading moves. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see the details here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest action surrounding Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS).
Hedge fund activity in Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS)
Heading into Q4, a total of 21 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 62% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, holds the most valuable position in Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS). Adage Capital Management has a $60.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Adage Capital Management’s heels is Broadfin Capital, managed by Kevin Kotler, which holds a $17.8 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money that hold long positions consist of Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom’s Sectoral Asset Management, Jason Karp’s Tourbillon Capital Partners and Bihua Chen’s Cormorant Asset Management.
Consequently, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Sectoral Asset Management, managed by Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom, established the biggest position in Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS). Sectoral Asset Management had $12.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Hal Mintz’s Sabby Capital also made a $1.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ADXS investors: Hal Mintz’s Sabby Capital, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, and Philip Hempleman’s Ardsley Partners.
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS). These stocks are IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT), Extreme Networks, Inc (NASDAQ:EXTR), ProQR Therapeutics NV (NASDAQ:PRQR), and Regulus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RGLS). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to ADXS’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| IDT | 10 | 31178 | 2 |
| EXTR | 19 | 71631 | 3 |
| PRQR | 14 | 85582 | -2 |
| RGLS | 13 | 46409 | -1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 14 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $59 million. That figure was $129 million in ADXS’s case. Extreme Networks, Inc (NASDAQ:EXTR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
