Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY) was in 18 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. RYAAY shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest lately. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with RYAAY holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a glance at the latest action encompassing Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY).
What does the smart money think about Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the biggest position in Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY). Renaissance Technologies has a $111.3 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is CQS Cayman LP, managed by Michael Hintze, which held a $54 million position; the fund has 6.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Paul Ruddock and Steve Heinz’s Lansdowne Partners, Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management and Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings.
As one would reasonably expect, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Moore Global Investments, managed by Louis Bacon, assembled the most outsized position in Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY). Moore Global Investments had 6.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw also made a $5.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.
How have insiders been trading Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY). These stocks are JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU), Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK), Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV), and LATAM Airlines Group SA (ADR) (NYSE:LFL). This group of stocks belong to the regional airlines industry and their market caps resemble RYAAY’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) | 24 | 0 | 10 |
| Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) | 32 | 0 | 1 |
| LATAM Airlines Group SA (ADR) (NYSE:LFL) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY) is an important part of this process.
