Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) is on its journey to $1,000 a share. Here’s one metric that suggests it will reach this mark soon.
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Equally as useful, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of motivations 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. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you understand where to look (learn more here).
Furthermore, it’s important to analyze the recent info surrounding Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN).
Hedge fund activity in Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)
Heading into Q3, a total of 76 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 13% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
According to our 13F database, Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital had the most valuable position in Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN), worth close to $1.4206 billion, comprising 6.9% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Coatue Management, managed by Philippe Laffont, which held a $443.7 million position; 4.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Paul Reeder and Edward Shapiro’s PAR Capital Management, Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC and John Griffin’s Blue Ridge Capital.
As aggregate interest spiked, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Lone Pine Capital, managed by Stephen Mandel, created the most valuable position in Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN). Lone Pine Capital had 1.4206 billion invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management also made a $443.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new PCLN positions are Paul ReederáandáEdward Shapiro’s PAR Capital Management, Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC, and John Griffin’s Blue Ridge Capital.
How are insiders trading Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN). These stocks are MakeMyTrip Limited (NASDAQ:MMYT), Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:OWW), Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE:FUN), Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE:SIX), and Carnival plc (ADR) (NYSE:CUK). This group of stocks are the members of the general entertainment industry and their market caps are similar to PCLN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| MakeMyTrip Limited (NASDAQ:MMYT) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:OWW) | 16 | 0 | 15 |
| Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE:FUN) | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE:SIX) | 30 | 2 | 4 |
| Carnival plc (ADR) (NYSE:CUK) | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Using the results explained by our analyses, average investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
