Hedge Funds Are Crazy About Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ASTX)

What’s a smart Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX) investor to do?

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of indicators shareholders can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as crucial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to look at the marketplace. Obviously, there are a variety of reasons for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s study the latest info for Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX).

What have hedge funds been doing with Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 6% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

According to our 13F database, OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, holds the biggest position in Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX). OrbiMed Advisors has a $13.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Joseph Edelman of Perceptive Advisors, with a $6.8 million position; the fund has 0.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Consequently, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, initiated the most outsized position in Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX). OrbiMed Advisors had 13.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Joseph Edelman’s Perceptive Advisors also initiated a $6.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ASTX investors: Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

What have insiders been doing with Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX). These stocks are Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL), Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX), Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. (NASDAQ:RPTP), Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECYT), and Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:KYTH). All of these stocks are in the drug manufacturers – major industry and their market caps are closest to ASTX’s market cap.