Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (REGN): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately.

To the average investor, there are dozens of indicators market participants can use to analyze the equity markets. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outpace the market by a solid amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of motivations for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the key action surrounding Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN).

What does the smart money think about Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 22% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw had the biggest call position in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN), worth close to $42.8 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, which held a $42.7 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom’s Sectoral Asset Management, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Perceptive Advisors, managed by Joseph Edelman, initiated the biggest position in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN). Perceptive Advisors had 11.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management also initiated a $3.4 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new REGN investors: Stephen DuBois’s Camber Capital Management, Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, and Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 18 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN). These stocks are Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB), Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN), BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX), and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN). This group of stocks are the members of the biotechnology industry and their market caps are closest to REGN’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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