Should Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) investors track the following data?
To many market players, hedge funds are viewed as bloated, outdated investment tools of an era lost to time. Although there are more than 8,000 hedge funds trading currently, Insider Monkey aim at the masters of this club, close to 525 funds. It is widely held that this group oversees the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total assets, and by paying attention to their highest quality stock picks, we’ve identified a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find the details here).
Just as useful, positive insider trading activity is a second way to look at the world of equities. There are plenty of reasons for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Furthermore, let’s study the newest info for Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA).
What does the smart money think about Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA)?
At Q2’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 43% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
Out of the hedge funds we follow, Impax Asset Management, managed by Ian Simm, holds the biggest position in Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA). Impax Asset Management has a $13 million position in the stock, comprising 1.6% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is John A. Levin of Levin Capital Strategies, with a $4.2 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Philip Hempleman’s Ardsley Partners, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
As one would understandably expect, particular hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Impax Asset Management, managed by Ian Simm, established the most valuable position in Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA). Impax Asset Management had 13 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies also initiated a $4.2 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ORA investors: Philip Hempleman’s Ardsley Partners, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA). These stocks are UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL), Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH), Atlantic Power Corp (NYSE:AT), El Paso Electric Company (NYSE:EE), and The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE:EDE). This group of stocks are the members of the electric utilities industry and their market caps resemble ORA’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlantic Power Corp (NYSE:AT) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| El Paso Electric Company (NYSE:EE) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE:EDE) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns explained by our strategies, regular investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
