Is WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (WETF) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?: Financial Engines Inc (FNGN), Cohen & Steers, Inc. (CNS)

Is WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF) ready to raly soon? Investors who are in the know are betting on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund bets advanced by 3 recently.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of metrics investors can use to monitor stocks. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can beat the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of motivations for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a gander at the recent action encompassing WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF).

How have hedgies been trading WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 50% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Horizon Asset Management, managed by Murray Stahl, holds the largest position in WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF). Horizon Asset Management has a $26 million position in the stock, comprising 0.8% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which held a $10 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Alyeska Investment Group, managed by Anand Parekh, created the most valuable position in WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF). Alyeska Investment Group had 10 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.

Insider trading activity in WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF)

Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF). These stocks are Financial Engines Inc (NASDAQ:FNGN), Cohen & Steers, Inc. (NYSE:CNS), Virtus Investment Partners Inc (NASDAQ:VRTS), Gamco Investors Inc. (NYSE:GBL), and Evercore Partners Inc. (NYSE:EVR). All of these stocks are in the asset management industry and their market caps are closest to WETF’s market cap.

With the results shown by our time-tested strategies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF) is no exception.

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