The market has been volatile as the Federal Reserve continues its rate hikes to normalize the interest rates. Small cap stocks have been hit hard as a result, as the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) has underperformed the larger S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by about 4 percentage points through November 16th. SEC filings and hedge fund investor letters indicate that the smart money seems to be paring back their overall long exposure since summer months, and the funds’ movements is one of the reasons why the major indexes have retraced. In this article, we analyze what the smart money thinks of Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE) and find out how it is affected by hedge funds’ moves.
Hedge fund interest in Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. At the end of this article we will also compare QURE to other stocks including Bluegreen Vacations Corporation (NYSE:BXG), Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL), and Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund Inc (NYSE:RQI) to get a better sense of its popularity.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey’s flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 6.3% year to date (through December 3rd) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 18 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let’s take a gander at the fresh hedge fund action regarding Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE).
What does the smart money think about Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE)?
At Q3’s end, a total of 19 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, representing no change from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in QURE over the last 13 quarters. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically, Nantahala Capital Management was the largest shareholder of Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE), with a stake worth $68.5 million reported as of the end of September. Trailing Nantahala Capital Management was Nantahala Capital Management, which amassed a stake valued at $65.5 million. Redmile Group, Consonance Capital Management, and 683 Capital Partners were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Due to the fact that Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE) has faced a decline in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of fund managers that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. At the top of the heap, Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors said goodbye to the largest position of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $0.9 million in stock, and Peter Muller’s PDT Partners was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.7 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE). We will take a look at Bluegreen Vacations Corporation (NYSE:BXG), Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL), Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund Inc (NYSE:RQI), and Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (NYSE:USA). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to QURE’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| BXG | 2 | 5851 | 1 |
| BRKL | 6 | 53207 | -2 |
| RQI | 1 | 834 | -2 |
| USA | 3 | 1830 | -2 |
| Average | 3 | 15431 | -1.25 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 3 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $15 million. That figure was $321 million in QURE’s case. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund Inc (NYSE:RQI) is the least popular one with only 1 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Uniqure NV (NASDAQ:QURE) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
