Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Abeona Therapeutics Inc (ABEO)

Before we spend many hours researching a company, we’d like to analyze what hedge funds and billionaire investors think of the stock first. We would like to do so because the elite investors’ consensus returns have been exceptional. The top 30 S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds at the end of September 2014 yielded an average return of 9.5% during the last 12 months ending in October 30. Sixty three percent of these 30 stocks outperformed the market. Although the elite funds occasionally have their duds, such as Micron and Anadarko Petroleum, which fell 50% and 26%, respectively during the same time period, the hedge fund picks seem to work on average. In the following paragraphs, we find out what the billionaire investors and hedge funds think of Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO).

Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO) has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. What might come as a surprise is the fact that the stock market was bearish on the stock of Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO), losing 19.96% value throughout the third quarter. In order to understand the hedge fund sentiment, we decided to find out more about hedge funds holding positions in the company, at the end of the last quarter.

The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article, we will examine companies such as Fenix Parts Inc (NASDAQ:FENX), and JMP Group Inc. (NYSE:JMP) to gather more data points.

To most shareholders, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, old investment tools of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds trading at the moment, our researchers hone in on the upper echelon of this group, approximately 700 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people handle the majority of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by tailing their inimitable investments, Insider Monkey has identified numerous investment strategies that have historically beaten the broader indices. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per annum for a decade in their back tests.

Keeping this in mind, let’s go over the new action encompassing Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO).

What does the smart money think about Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO)?

At the end of the last quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, an increase of 33% from the second quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Joseph Edelman’s Perceptive Advisors has the largest position in Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO), worth close to $7.1 million, comprising 0.6% of its total 13F portfolio. On Perceptive Advisors’s heels is Soros Fund Management, with a $5.9 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include Fred Knoll’s Knoll Capital Management, Joseph Edelman’s Perceptive Advisors, and Hal Mintz’s Sabby Capital.

Consequently, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. DAFNA Capital Management, managed by Nathan Fischel, initiated the largest position in Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO). DAFNA Capital Management had $0.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates also made a $0.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle’s Springbok Capital.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO). We will take a look at Fenix Parts Inc (NASDAQ:FENX), JMP Group Inc. (NYSE:JMP), and Energy Fuels Inc Ordinary Shares (Canada) (NYSEMKT:UUUU). This group of stocks’ market valuations match Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO)’s market valuation.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 6 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $17 million. That figure was $24 million in Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO)’s case. Fenix Parts Inc (NASDAQ:FENX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, JMP Group Inc. (NYSE:JMP) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ABEO) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.