Is seacube container leasing ltd (BOX) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. BOX shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund sentiment of late. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with BOX positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are many metrics shareholders can use to monitor the equity markets. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outpace the market by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. There are lots of stimuli for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action surrounding seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX).

How have hedgies been trading seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 57% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Fortress Investment Group, managed by Michael Novogratz, holds the largest position in seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX). Fortress Investment Group has a $192.6 million position in the stock, comprising 3.3% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Matthew Tewksbury of Stevens Capital Management, with a $8 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

Consequently, specific money managers have jumped into seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX) headfirst. Stevens Capital Management, managed by Matthew Tewksbury, initiated the largest position in seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX). Stevens Capital Management had 8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors also initiated a $6.4 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BOX investors: Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management, and Paul Glazer’s Glazer Capital.

Insider trading activity in seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX)

Insider buying is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX). These stocks are Aircastle Limited (NYSE:AYR), McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC), CAI International Inc (NYSE:CAP), Electro Rent Corporation (NASDAQ:ELRC), and Fly Leasing Ltd(ADR) (NYSE:FLY). This group of stocks are in the rental & leasing services industry and their market caps resemble BOX’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and seacube container leasing ltd (NYSE:BOX) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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