Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.
To the average investor, there are a multitude of metrics investors can use to watch Mr. Market. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can beat the S&P 500 by a superb margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are many motivations for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the key action regarding Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW).
What have hedge funds been doing with Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -17% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Shannon River Fund Management, managed by Spencer M. Waxman, holds the biggest position in Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW). Shannon River Fund Management has a $18 million position in the stock, comprising 2.3% of its 13F portfolio. On Shannon River Fund Management’s heels is Highland Capital Management, managed by James Dondero, which held a $10 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include Peter A. Wright’s P.A.W. CAPITAL PARTNERS, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Because Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW) has experienced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there exists a select few money managers who sold off their positions entirely in Q4. Interestingly, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors dumped the biggest stake of all the hedgies we monitor, worth an estimated $15 million in stock., and Richard Schimel of Diamondback Capital was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $13 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds in Q4.
What have insiders been doing with Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW) has experienced 2 unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW). These stocks are SouFun Holdings Limited (ADR) (NYSE:SFUN), OpenTable Inc (NASDAQ:OPEN), Bankrate Inc (NYSE:RATE), HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM), and Blucora Inc (NASDAQ:BCOR). This group of stocks are in the internet information providers industry and their market caps match WWWW’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| SouFun Holdings Limited (ADR) (NYSE:SFUN) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| OpenTable Inc (NASDAQ:OPEN) | 17 | 0 | 4 |
| Bankrate Inc (NYSE:RATE) | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Blucora Inc (NASDAQ:BCOR) | 18 | 0 | 2 |
With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WWWW) is an important part of this process.
