Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI)

Is Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) a great investment right now? Hedge funds are in a bullish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions moved up by 7 in recent months.

In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to analyze their holdings. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are a number of reasons for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a peek at the key action encompassing Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI).

Hedge fund activity in Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)

Heading into Q2, a total of 34 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 26% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

Of the funds we track, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the biggest position in Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), worth close to $86.1 million, accounting for 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, which held a $56.4 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management and Malcolm Fairbairn’s Ascend Capital.

As one would reasonably expect, key money managers have jumped into Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) headfirst. Scopus Asset Management, managed by Alexander Mitchell, assembled the largest position in Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI). Scopus Asset Management had 32.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Yale M. Fergang and Robert W. Medway’s Royal Capital also made a $18.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ATVI investors: Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management, and Jeffrey Jon Berney’s TriOaks Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) has experienced 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 Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI). These stocks are Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSOD), Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI), International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT), and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA). This group of stocks are the members of the multimedia & graphics software industry and their market caps match ATVI’s market cap.