To the average investor, there are many gauges shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. Some 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 best hedge fund managers can outpace the market by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, positive insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of incentives for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors understand where to look (learn more here).
What’s more, it’s important to study the recent info for Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN).
What does the smart money think about Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)?
At the end of the second quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 18% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.
Out of the hedge funds we follow, Sectoral Asset Management, managed by Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom, holds the biggest position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN). Sectoral Asset Management has a $88.4 million position in the stock, comprising 2.6% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Redmile Group, managed by Jeremy Green, which held a $38.8 million position; the fund has 6.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors and Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the titans, certain money managers have jumped into Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) headfirst. Sectoral Asset Management, managed by Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom, created the most valuable position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN). Sectoral Asset Management had 88.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jeremy Green’s Redmile Group also made a $38.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, and Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management.
What have insiders been doing with Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN). These stocks are Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRO), Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE:MSA), STERIS Corp (NYSE:STE), Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK), and Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH). This group of stocks are in the medical appliances & equipment industry and their market caps match ALGN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRO) | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE:MSA) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| STERIS Corp (NYSE:STE) | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) | 14 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, regular investors must always track hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) is no exception.
