To the average investor, there are plenty of metrics investors can use to watch the equity markets. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outclass the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).
Just as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of incentives for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the recent action encompassing Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE).
What have hedge funds been doing with Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 43% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.
Of the funds we track, Jeffrey Furber’s AEW Capital Management had the biggest position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE), worth close to $73.9 million, comprising 2% of its total 13F portfolio. On AEW Capital Management’s heels is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $17.8 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Now, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, initiated the biggest position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE). Renaissance Technologies had 17.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors also made a $0.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new ARE position is Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
What have insiders been doing with Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE). These stocks are CommonWealth REIT (NYSE:CWH), Highwoods Properties Inc (NYSE:HIW), Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM), Kilroy Realty Corp (NYSE:KRC), and Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LRY). This group of stocks are in the reit – office industry and their market caps are similar to ARE’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| CommonWealth REIT (NYSE:CWH) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Highwoods Properties Inc (NYSE:HIW) | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Kilroy Realty Corp (NYSE:KRC) | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LRY) | 13 | 0 | 5 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned studies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE) is no exception.
