The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of methods investors can use to watch the equity markets. Some of the most innovative 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 top investment managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a number of incentives for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the key action surrounding The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE).
What does the smart money think about The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -20% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, holds the largest position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE). GAMCO Investors has a $44.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. On GAMCO Investors’s heels is SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, which held a $15 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital, and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
Due to the fact that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has experienced bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedge funds that elected to cut their entire stakes last quarter. Interestingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management dropped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, totaling about $7.1 million in stock.. Matthew Tewksbury’s fund, Stevens Capital Management, also dropped its stock, about $1.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 3 funds last quarter.
Insider trading activity in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)
Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) has experienced 3 unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE). These stocks are Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT), Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD), The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN), Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN), and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL). This group of stocks are in the restaurants industry and their market caps resemble CAKE’s market cap.
