Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW) investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately.
According to most shareholders, hedge funds are seen as worthless, outdated financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation today, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the top tier of this group, around 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group oversees the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their highest performing investments, we have figured out a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).
Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. There are many reasons for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a peek at the key action encompassing Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW).
How are hedge funds trading Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 15% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Cardinal Capital, managed by Amy Minella, holds the most valuable position in Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW). Cardinal Capital has a $42.7 million position in the stock, comprising 2.7% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Edward Goodnow of Goodnow Investment Group, with a $21.3 million position; 4.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names have jumped into Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW) headfirst. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, established the most valuable position in Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW). Millennium Management had 4.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies also made a $2.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new AAWW investors: Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, Mike Vranos’s Ellington, and David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments.
What have insiders been doing with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW). These stocks are Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (ADR) (NYSE:PAC), Bristow Group Inc (NYSE:BRS), PHI Inc. (NASDAQ:PHII), Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM), and Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Nort(ADR) (NASDAQ:OMAB). This group of stocks are the members of the air services, other industry and their market caps are similar to AAWW’s market cap.
