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

AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late. However, according to an announcement made today, B. Riley has increased AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX)’s rank.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of metrics market participants can use to watch their holdings. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can beat the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as important, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of reasons for an upper level exec to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the latest action encompassing AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX).

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

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -10% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, Paulson & Co, managed by John Paulson, holds the biggest position in AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX). Paulson & Co has a $293.5 million position in the stock, comprising 1.8% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Luxor Capital Group, managed by Christian Leone, which held a $218.9 million position; 7.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Due to the fact that AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX) has faced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. At the top of the heap, Charles Clough’s Clough Capital Partners dumped the largest stake of the 450+ funds we monitor, totaling close to $15.8 million in stock.. Andrew Sandler’s fund, Sandler Capital Management, also sold off its stock, about $7 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds last quarter.

Insider trading activity in AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review 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), Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC), and Net Servicos de Comunicacao SA (ADR) (NASDAQ:NETC). This group of stocks are the members of the catv systems industry and their market caps resemble AMCX’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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