Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. FURX investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 4 hedge funds in our database with FURX positions at the end of the previous quarter.
According to most stock holders, hedge funds are viewed as slow, outdated investment tools of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation today, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the bigwigs of this club, close to 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group has its hands on most of the smart money’s total capital, and by tracking their top investments, we have found a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of incentives for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a glance at the latest action surrounding Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX).
How are hedge funds trading Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 175% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
Consequently, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Point State Capital, managed by Sean Cullinan, established the most valuable position in Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX). Point State Capital had 11.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $2 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new FURX investors: Peter Rathjens Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
How have insiders been trading Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time period, Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 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 Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX). These stocks are Safeguard Scientifics, Inc (NYSE:SFE), Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:UEPS), Multi-Color Corporation (NASDAQ:LABL), Higher One Holdings, Inc (NYSE:ONE), and Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX). All of these stocks are in the business services industry and their market caps are similar to FURX’s market cap.
