Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Ocean Rig UDW Inc (ORIG)

Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. ORIG investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund interest recently. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with ORIG positions at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to monitor stocks. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can trounce the market by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are many reasons for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a look at the recent action regarding Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG).

How have hedgies been trading Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 120% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management had the most valuable position in Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG), worth close to $70.4 million, accounting for 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $20.8 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that are bullish include Don Morgan’s Brigade Capital, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Brigade Capital, managed by Don Morgan, initiated the most valuable position in Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG). Brigade Capital had 8.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also initiated a $2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ORIG positions are Noam Gottesman’s GLG Partners, Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow’s Blue Mountain Capital, and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.

How are insiders trading Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG)?

Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG). These stocks are Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC (NYSE:VNR), EV Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:EVEP), BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP), Unit Corporation (NYSE:UNT), and Pacific Drilling SA (NYSE:PACD). This group of stocks belong to the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps are similar to ORIG’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned research, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Ocean Rig UDW Inc (NASDAQ:ORIG) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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