Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE:PIKE) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently.
Equally as important, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. There are plenty of stimuli for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action surrounding Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE:PIKE).
What does the smart money think about Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE:PIKE)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -7% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE:PIKE), worth close to $11.3 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is McKinley Capital Management, managed by Robert B. Gillam, which held a $4.6 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Since Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE:PIKE) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that slashed their entire stakes at the end of the first quarter. At the top of the heap, Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management said goodbye to the biggest investment of all the hedgies we watch, worth an estimated $10.7 million in stock., and Mark Broach of Manatuck Hill Partners was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $0.5 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds at the end of the first quarter.
Insider trading activity in Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE:PIKE)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE:PIKE) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Pike Electric Corporation (NYSE:PIKE). These stocks are Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR), Emcor Group Inc (NYSE:EME), Integrated Electrical Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:IESC), Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX), and MYR Group Inc (NASDAQ:MYRG). This group of stocks are the members of the general contractors industry and their market caps are similar to PIKE’s market cap.