Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC) has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment recently.
At the moment, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to track publicly traded companies. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can beat the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Just as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. There are plenty of motivations for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a look at the key action regarding Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC).
How have hedgies been trading Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the largest position in Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC). Renaissance Technologies has a $7.2 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, which held a $4.6 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
Judging by the fact that Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC) has experienced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there exists a select few funds that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Richard C. Patton’s Courage Capital cut the largest position of all the hedgies we track, comprising close to $2.8 million in stock., and Jeffrey Jon Berney of TriOaks Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $1.5 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC). These stocks are BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI), AFC Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCE), CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:CEC), Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI), and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ:RRGB). This group of stocks belong to the restaurants industry and their market caps are closest to SONC’s market cap.
