Hedge Funds Are Crazy About Dynavax Technologies Corporation (DVAX)

Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX) has experienced an increase in hedge fund interest recently.

To the average investor, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to track publicly traded companies. A couple of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of motivations for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a gander at the key action regarding Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX).

What does the smart money think about Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX)?

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 hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Healthcor Management LP, managed by Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey, holds the most valuable position in Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX). Healthcor Management LP has a $39.1 million position in the stock, comprising 1.7% of its 13F portfolio. On Healthcor Management LP’s heels is Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors, with a $15.5 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies with similar optimism include Jeremy Green’s Redmile Group, Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Now, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, established the largest position in Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX). OrbiMed Advisors had 3.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Mark Rachesky’s MHR Fund Management also initiated a $1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management, SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors, and Nathan Fischel’s DAFNA Capital Management.

Insider trading activity in Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX)

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX). These stocks are Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OREX), Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:LCI), Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (ADR) (NYSE:SCR), Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO), and Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SGYP). This group of stocks are in the drug manufacturers – other industry and their market caps resemble DVAX’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s research, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds