Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Linn Energy LLC (LINE)?

Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE) investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund interest of late.

In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of indicators investors can use to analyze their holdings. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Just as key, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are many motivations for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if investors understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the recent action surrounding Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE).

Hedge fund activity in Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE)

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 33% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, Omega Advisors, managed by Leon Cooperman, holds the biggest position in Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE). Omega Advisors has a $271.3 million position in the stock, comprising 4.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Omega Advisors’s heels is Philip Hempleman of Ardsley Partners, with a $30 million position; the fund has 4.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management and Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital.

Consequently, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Ardsley Partners, managed by Philip Hempleman, created the largest position in Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE). Ardsley Partners had 30 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management also initiated a $3.8 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new LINE positions are Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital, Peter S. Park’s Park West Asset Management, and Eric Edidin and Josh Lobel’s Archer Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE)?

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time period, Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE) has seen 2 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE). These stocks are Plains Exploration & Production Company (NYSE:PXP), Talisman Energy Inc. (USA) (NYSE:TLM), Cimarex Energy Co (NYSE:XEC), Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE), and Denbury Resources Inc. (NYSE:DNR). All of these stocks are in the independent oil & gas industry and their market caps are similar to LINE’s market cap.