Hedge Funds Are Buying Air Methods Corp (AIRM)

Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM) was in 15 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. AIRM shareholders have witnessed an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with AIRM positions at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are a multitude of methods investors can use to analyze their holdings. Two of the best 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 best fund managers can outpace the market by a superb amount (see just how much).

Equally as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. There are lots of motivations for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if you understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a look at the recent action regarding Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM).

How are hedge funds trading Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 25% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Alydar Capital, managed by John Murphy, holds the largest position in Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM). Alydar Capital has a $28 million position in the stock, comprising 1.8% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $8.3 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital, Mark Broach’s Manatuck Hill Partners and Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital.

Now, key money managers have jumped into Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM) headfirst. Alydar Capital, managed by John Murphy, assembled the most valuable position in Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM). Alydar Capital had 28 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management also initiated a $0.7 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new AIRM investors: Mike Vranos’s Ellington, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, and Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM) has experienced 2 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM). These stocks are Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ADR) (NYSE:ASR), Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (ADR) (NYSE:PAC), Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW), Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Nort(ADR) (NASDAQ:OMAB), and Bristow Group Inc (NYSE:BRS). This group of stocks belong to the air services, other industry and their market caps resemble AIRM’s market cap.