Hedge Funds Are Buying Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AEGR)

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) was in 14 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. AEGR has seen an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with AEGR positions at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are tons of gauges investors can use to track Mr. Market. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can beat the market by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are many stimuli for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action surrounding Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR).

How have hedgies been trading Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 133% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Joseph Edelman’s Perceptive Advisors had the most valuable position in Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR), worth close to $66.4 million, accounting for 11.7% of its total 13F portfolio. On Perceptive Advisors’s heels is Mark Kingdon of Kingdon Capital, with a $15.9 million call position; 1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Julian Baker and Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors, Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital and Mark Broach’s Manatuck Hill Partners.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers have jumped into Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) headfirst. Kingdon Capital, managed by Mark Kingdon, created the most outsized call position in Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR). Kingdon Capital had 15.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital also made a $7.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors.

Insider trading activity in Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR)

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) has experienced 3 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR). These stocks are Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL), Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ICPT), Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX), Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX), and Impax Laboratories Inc (NASDAQ:IPXL). All of these stocks are in the drug manufacturers – major industry and their market caps match AEGR’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) is no exception.

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