In the financial world, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to analyze publicly traded companies. 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 top hedge fund managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. There are a variety of motivations for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a gander at the recent action encompassing Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG).
How have hedgies been trading Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -30% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
Because Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of fund managers that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management dropped the biggest position of the 450+ funds we monitor, worth about $5.2 million in stock., and Israel Englander of Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $4.2 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds last quarter.
What have insiders been doing with Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG). These stocks are Magnum Hunter Resources Corp (NYSE:MHR), Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd (USA) (NYSE:AAV), SandRidge Mississippian Trust II (NYSE:SDR), Parker Drilling Company (NYSE:PKD), and Pioneer Energy Services Corp (NYSE:PES). This group of stocks are in the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps are similar to VTG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Magnum Hunter Resources Corp (NYSE:MHR) | 9 | 2 | 3 |
| Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd (USA) (NYSE:AAV) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| SandRidge Mississippian Trust II (NYSE:SDR) | 0 | 0 | |
| Parker Drilling Company (NYSE:PKD) | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Pioneer Energy Services Corp (NYSE:PES) | 16 | 1 | 2 |
With the results shown by our tactics, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG) is no exception.
