Is Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds? – RAIT Financial Trust (NYSE:RAS), Excel Trust Inc (NYSE:EXL)

Is Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI) the right pick for your portfolio? Prominent investors are in a bullish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions moved up by 7 lately.

According to most traders, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, old investment vehicles of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we at Insider Monkey look at the upper echelon of this club, around 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group oversees the majority of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their top picks, we have identified a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (see the details here).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are many reasons for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a glance at the key action regarding Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI).

How have hedgies been trading Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 175% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

Of the funds we track, Malcolm Fairbairn’s Ascend Capital had the largest position in Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI), worth close to $9 million, accounting for 0.4% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $7 million position; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Abby Flamholz and Yehuda Blinder’s ADAR Investment Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Ascend Capital, managed by Malcolm Fairbairn, created the most valuable position in Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI). Ascend Capital had 9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also initiated a $7 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ARI positions are Abby Flamholz and Yehuda Blinder’s ADAR Investment Management, Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital, and John Fichthorn’s Dialectic Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI). These stocks are Winthrop Realty Trust (NYSE:FUR), Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation (NYSE:ANH), RAIT Financial Trust (NYSE:RAS), AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT), and Excel Trust Inc (NYSE:EXL). This group of stocks belong to the reit – diversified industry and their market caps are similar to ARI’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Apollo Commercial Real Est. Finance Inc (NYSE:ARI) is no exception.