Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. NR investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with NR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are a multitude of methods shareholders can use to watch publicly traded companies. A couple of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can beat their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of incentives for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a glance at the key action regarding Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR).
What have hedge funds been doing with Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 25% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR). Royce & Associates has a $10.3 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt, which held a $1.6 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Phil Frohlich’s Prescott Group Capital Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Now, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt, assembled the largest position in Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR). Gotham Asset Management had 1.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $0.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new NR positions are Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.
How have insiders been trading Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR). These stocks are C&J Energy Services Inc (NYSE:CJES), Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO), Basic Energy Services, Inc (NYSE:BAS), GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF), and TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI). This group of stocks are the members of the oil & gas equipment & services industry and their market caps match NR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| C&J Energy Services Inc (NYSE:CJES) | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO) | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Basic Energy Services, Inc (NYSE:BAS) | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF) | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) | 13 | 3 | 0 |
With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) applies perfectly to this mantra.
