Hedge Funds Are Selling ResMed Inc. (RMD)

ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. RMD has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with RMD holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are plenty of gauges market participants can use to monitor stocks. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for an upper level exec to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action surrounding ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD).

How have hedgies been trading ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -29% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, holds the largest position in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD). AQR Capital Management has a $15 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On AQR Capital Management’s heels is Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell of Arrowstreet Capital, with a $14.4 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Due to the fact that ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) has witnessed a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there is a sect of money managers who sold off their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies cut the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, valued at an estimated $22.6 million in stock.. Andy Redleaf’s fund, Whitebox Advisors, also sold off its stock, about $0.8 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds at the end of the first quarter.

Insider trading activity in ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD)

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD). These stocks are Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRO), Smith & Nephew plc (ADR) (NYSE:SNN), Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW), Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VAR), and Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX). This group of stocks are the members of the medical appliances & equipment industry and their market caps are similar to RMD’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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