Is AMC Networks Inc (AMCX) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX) investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.

At the moment, there are many methods investors can use to analyze publicly traded companies. A duo of the most under-the-radar 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 fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of reasons for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a gander at the latest action surrounding AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX).

How have hedgies been trading AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 26 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 24% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co had the most valuable position in AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX), worth close to $374.7 million, accounting for 2.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, which held a $165.4 million position; the fund has 1.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Christian Leone’s Luxor Capital Group.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, initiated the biggest position in AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX). Adage Capital Management had 67.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also made a $64.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Christopher Medlock James’s Partner Fund Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors.

How are insiders trading AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX). These stocks are Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ:VMED), Shaw Communications Inc (USA) (NYSE:SJR), Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), and Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). All of these stocks are in the catv systems industry and their market caps match AMCX’s market cap.