Is Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AEGR) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

To the average investor, there are dozens of gauges market participants can use to watch publicly traded companies. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can beat the S&P 500 by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Just as necessary, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to look at the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of reasons for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

Thus, let’s study the newest info about Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR).

Hedge fund activity in Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR)

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 26 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 30% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.

According to our 13F database, Joseph Edelman’s Perceptive Advisors had the largest position in Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR), worth close to $226.3 million, comprising 22.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Mark Kingdon of Kingdon Capital, with a $64.9 million call position; the fund has 3.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Julian Baker and Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors, Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital and Christopher Medlock James’s Partner Fund Management.

As one would understandably expect, particular hedge funds have jumped into Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) headfirst. Perceptive Advisors, managed by Joseph Edelman, established the largest position in Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR). Perceptive Advisors had 226.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital also initiated a $64.9 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new AEGR positions are Julian Baker and Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors, Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital, and Christopher MedlockáJames’s Partner Fund Management.

How have insiders been trading Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR)?

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero 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 Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR). These stocks are Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL), Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ICPT), Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX), Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX), and Impax Laboratories Inc (NASDAQ:IPXL). This group of stocks belong to the drug manufacturers – major industry and their market caps match AEGR’s market cap.