Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. UA has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment recently. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with UA holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
If you’d ask most shareholders, hedge funds are assumed to be slow, outdated financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at the moment, we hone in on the moguls of this group, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls most of the smart money’s total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their top stock picks, we have uncovered a few investment strategies that have historically outpaced the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have topped the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (check out a sample of our picks).
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of incentives for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a gander at the latest action regarding Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA).
How are hedge funds trading Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA)?
At year’s end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -19% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the biggest position in Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA). Citadel Investment Group has a $158 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Scopus Asset Management, managed by Alexander Mitchell, which held a $46 million position; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.
Judging by the fact that Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of money managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes heading into 2013. It’s worth mentioning that Douglas Dillard Jr. and Raj D. Venkatesan’s Standard Pacific Capital cut the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising about $54 million in stock., and Richard Driehaus of Driehaus Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $14 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds heading into 2013.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) applies perfectly to this mantra.
Click here to learn more about Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund Newsletter
Insider Monkey’s small-cap strategy returned 29.2% between September 2012 and February 2013 versus 8.7% for the S&P 500 index. Try it now by clicking the link above.
