Hedge Funds Are Betting On NIKE, Inc. (NKE)

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months.

At the moment, there are plenty of methods investors can use to watch Mr. Market. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can trounce the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as important, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a variety of reasons for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action surrounding NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE).

How are hedge funds trading NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 41 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 3% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Lansdowne Partners, managed by Paul Ruddock and Steve Heinz, holds the most valuable position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE). Lansdowne Partners has a $760.7 million position in the stock, comprising 10.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Donald Chiboucis of Columbus Circle Investors, with a $144.5 million position; the fund has 1.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management, John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Limited and Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital.

Now, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Capital Growth Management, managed by Ken Heebner, initiated the largest position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE). Capital Growth Management had 24.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also initiated a $23.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new NKE positions are Thomas Lenox Kempner’s Davidson Kempner, SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management, and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

What have insiders been doing with NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time period, NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 12 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 NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE). These stocks are Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:ICON), Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO), Deckers Outdoor Corp (NASDAQ:DECK), Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW), and Coach, Inc. (NYSE:COH). All of these stocks are in the textile – apparel footwear & accessories industry and their market caps match NKE’s market cap.