Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS) investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to track the equity markets. A couple of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can trounce the broader indices by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. There are a number of stimuli for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action regarding Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS).
How have hedgies been trading Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS)?
At year’s end, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 17% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management had the largest position in Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS), worth close to $37.6 million, comprising 2.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, which held a $30.2 million position; the fund has 0.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Peter Kolchinsky’s RA Capital Management, Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Deerfield Management, managed by James E. Flynn, established the largest position in Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS). Deerfield Management had 37.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Kolchinsky’s RA Capital Management also initiated a $2.1 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital.
How have insiders been trading Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS). These stocks are Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX), OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSUR), Atrion Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRI), Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI), and AngioDynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANGO). This group of stocks are the members of the medical instruments & supplies industry and their market caps are closest to ATRS’s market cap.
