We at Insider Monkey have gone over 700 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the government. The 13F filings show the funds’ and investors’ portfolio positions as of September 30. In this article, we look at what those funds think of Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA) based on that data.
Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA) has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA) positions at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article, we will examine companies such as Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO), Lumos Networks Corp (NASDAQ:LMOS), and SciQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQI) to gather more data points.
Follow Akebia Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)
Follow Akebia Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)
At the moment, there are a multitude of signals investors put to use to assess stocks. Some of the less utilized signals are hedge fund and insider trading activity. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outpace the broader indices by a healthy margin (see the details here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s view the key action encompassing Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA).
How are hedge funds trading Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA)?
At the end of Q3, a total of 12 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, an increase of 71% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management has the largest position in Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA), worth close to $5.4 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Marshall Wace LLP, managed by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, which holds a $4.1 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other professional money managers that are bullish encompass Joseph Edelman’s Perceptive Advisors, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Peter A. Wright’s P.A.W. CAPITAL PARTNERS.
As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Perceptive Advisors initiated a $2.5 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are P.A.W. CAPITAL PARTNERS, Clifford Fox’s Columbus Circle Investors, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA). We will take a look at Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO), Lumos Networks Corp (NASDAQ:LMOS), SciQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQI), and Hi-Crush Partners LP (NYSE:HCLP). All of these stocks’ market caps are closest to Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA)’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| TESO | 10 | 31037 | -4 |
| LMOS | 11 | 59726 | -1 |
| SQI | 13 | 58282 | 0 |
| HCLP | 11 | 14719 | 2 |
As you can see, these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $41 million. That figure was $20 million in Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA)’s case. SciQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Akebia Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AKBA) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal, but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, SciQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQI) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
