This Metric Says You Are Smart to Sell Astronics Corporation (ATRO)

Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.

To the average investor, there are dozens of metrics market participants can use to track stocks. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the marketplace. There are a number of stimuli for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a look at the latest action encompassing Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO).

How are hedge funds trading Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Richard S. Meisenberg’s ACK Asset Management had the biggest position in Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO), worth close to $10.5 million, accounting for 4.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which held a $3.7 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Because Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there was a specific group of fund managers that elected to cut their positions entirely at the end of the first quarter. Intriguingly, Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors said goodbye to the largest stake of all the hedgies we watch, valued at an estimated $0.7 million in stock., and Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.4 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How have insiders been trading Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO). These stocks are AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR), LMI Aerospace, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMIA), Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC), AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), and TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR). This group of stocks are in the aerospace/defense products & services industry and their market caps are closest to ATRO’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned research, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds