Due to the fact that SAGE Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SAGE) has faced falling interest from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there were a few hedgies who sold off their full holdings heading into Q4. Interestingly, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital dropped the biggest stake of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, worth about $5.8 million in stock. Mark Wolfson and Jamie Alexander’s fund, Jasper Ridge Partners, also sold off its stock, about $2.6 million worth of SAGE shares. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 4 funds heading into Q4.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as SAGE Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SAGE) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI), ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS), Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS), and Marketo Inc (NASDAQ:MKTO). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble SAGE’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITRI | 16 | 200409 | 0 |
| EXLS | 13 | 76313 | -2 |
| OAS | 26 | 416930 | -2 |
| MKTO | 15 | 97152 | -2 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 18 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $198 million. That figure was $744 million in SAGE’s case. Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. SAGE Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SAGE) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard OAS might be a better candidate to consider a long position.