MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR) was in 16 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. WFR investors should pay attention to a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with WFR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are many gauges market participants can use to analyze the equity markets. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can trounce the market by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if investors know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a glance at the latest action surrounding MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR).
How have hedgies been trading MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR)?
At year’s end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Rishi Bajaj, Toby Symonds, and Steve Tesoriere’s Altai Capital had the most valuable position in MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR), worth close to $59 million, comprising 23.7% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, which held a $27 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Joseph A. Jolson’s Harvest Capital Strategies, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies.
Seeing as MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR) has experienced declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds who sold off their full holdings in Q4. Interestingly, Ryan Schaper’s Point Lobos Capital said goodbye to the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, totaling close to $8 million in stock., and Dmitry Balyasny of Balyasny Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What do corporate executives and insiders think about MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR) has seen 3 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE:WFR) is an important part of this process.
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