Hedge Funds Are Crazy About Polypore International, Inc. (PPO)

Is it smart to be bullish on Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO)?

In the financial world, there are a multitude of methods investors can use to track stocks. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can trounce the market by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Just as key, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of incentives for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Furthermore, it’s important to examine the newest info surrounding Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO).

Hedge fund activity in Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO)

At Q2’s end, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 25% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Generation Investment Management, managed by David Blood and Al Gore, holds the most valuable position in Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO). Generation Investment Management has a $108.2 million position in the stock, comprising 2.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Christopher Medlock James of Partner Fund Management, with a $52.1 million position; 1.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Edward Goodnow’s Goodnow Investment Group, John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies and Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management.

Consequently, particular hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Generation Investment Management, managed by David Blood and Al Gore, established the most valuable position in Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO). Generation Investment Management had 108.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Christopher Medlock James’s Partner Fund Management also made a $52.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Edward Goodnow’s Goodnow Investment Group, John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies, and Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management.

How have insiders been trading Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO)?

Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO). These stocks are Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:ZBRA), AIXTRON SE (ADR) (NASDAQ:AIXG), Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU), Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI), and Rexnord Corp (NYSE:RXN). All of these stocks are in the diversified machinery industry and their market caps are closest to PPO’s market cap.