In the eyes of many investors, hedge funds are assumed to be overrated, old investment tools of a forgotten age. Although there are In excess of 8,000 hedge funds in operation today, Insider Monkey aim at the crème de la crème of this group, about 525 funds. It is assumed that this group controls the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by monitoring their highest performing investments, we’ve come up with a few investment strategies that have historically beaten the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find a sample of our picks).
Just as crucial, positive insider trading activity is another way to look at the investments you’re interested in. There are plenty of stimuli for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
What’s more, it’s important to study the latest info surrounding AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI).
How have hedgies been trading AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI)?
At Q2’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 14% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.
Out of the hedge funds we follow, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the largest position in AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI). Renaissance Technologies has a $11.8 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Matt McLennan, which held a $3.7 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors.
As industrywide interest increased, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, assembled the most valuable position in AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI). Renaissance Technologies had 11.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matt McLennan’s First Eagle Investment Management also made a $3.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll go over the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI). These stocks are Tredegar Corporation (NYSE:TG), China XD Plastics Co Ltd (NASDAQ:CXDC), Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG), Spartech Corporation (NYSE:SEH), and Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE). All of these stocks are in the rubber & plastics industry and their market caps are closest to AEPI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Tredegar Corporation (NYSE:TG) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| China XD Plastics Co Ltd (NASDAQ:CXDC) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Spartech Corporation (NYSE:SEH) | 0 | 0 | |
| Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, regular investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
