Is Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL) a buy?
To many investors, hedge funds are assumed to be overrated, old financial vehicles of an era lost to time. Although there are In excess of 8,000 hedge funds in operation currently, this site focuses on the elite of this group, close to 525 funds. It is assumed that this group oversees the lion’s share of the smart money’s total capital, and by paying attention to their highest performing equity investments, we’ve spotted a few investment strategies that have historically beaten Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced 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 topped the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find a sample of our picks).
Just as useful, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to look at the stock market universe. There are a number of motivations for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, it’s important to analyze the newest info surrounding Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL).
What have hedge funds been doing with Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL)?
At Q2’s end, a total of 35 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 30% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.
According to our 13F database, Paulson & Co, managed by John Paulson, holds the biggest position in Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL). Paulson & Co has a $376.7 million position in the stock, comprising 2.7% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, which held a $154.7 million position; 3.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom’s Sectoral Asset Management, and Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey’s Healthcor Management LP.
As aggregate interest spiked, certain bigger names were leading the bulls’ herd. Paulson & Co, managed by John Paulson, assembled the biggest position in Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL). Paulson & Co had 376.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors also made a $154.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MYL investors: Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management, Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom’s Sectoral Asset Management, and Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin’s Senator Investment Group.
How have insiders been trading Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 5 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 Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL). These stocks are Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND), Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTA), Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX), Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP), and Actavis Inc (NYSE:ACT). This group of stocks belong to the drugs – generic industry and their market caps are similar to MYL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND) | 11 | 3 | 1 |
| Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTA) | 21 | 0 | 8 |
| Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX) | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP) | 24 | 0 | 5 |
| Actavis Inc (NYSE:ACT) | 57 | 0 | 13 |
Using the returns explained by the previously mentioned research, average investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL) applies perfectly to this mantra.
