Is New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY) a buy here? Hedge funds are getting less optimistic. The number of bullish hedge fund positions stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience
In the financial world, there are plenty of indicators shareholders can use to track Mr. Market. Two of the most innovative 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 outperform their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if you know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY).
What have hedge funds been doing with New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, North Run Capital, managed by Thomas Ellis and Todd Hammer, holds the biggest position in New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY). North Run Capital has a $19.1 million position in the stock, comprising 2.2% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Cannell Capital, managed by J. Carlo Cannell, which held a $3.6 million position; 2.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that are bullish include David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Due to the fact that New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY) has experienced bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there were a few funds who sold off their entire stakes heading into 2013. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies dropped the largest stake of all the hedgies we monitor, totaling about $0.1 million in stock.. Thomas Bailard’s fund, Bailard Inc, also cut its stock, about $0 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Insider trading activity in New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY). These stocks are bebe stores, inc. (NASDAQ:BEBE), Destination Maternity Corp (NASDAQ:DEST), Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK), The Wet Seal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTSL), and Destination XL Group Inc (NASDAQ:DXLG). This group of stocks belong to the apparel stores industry and their market caps are closest to NWY’s market cap.
