Is Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) a buy?
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of methods shareholders can use to monitor the equity markets. A couple of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outpace the market by a superb margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to look at the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are lots of motivations for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).
Now that that’s out of the way, it’s important to discuss the recent info for Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN).
What does the smart money think about Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 30 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -12% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
According to our 13F database, Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, holds the biggest position in Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN). Adage Capital Management has a $159.3 million position in the stock, comprising 0.5% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Sectoral Asset Management, managed by Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom, which held a $133.7 million position; the fund has 4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Fred Knoll’s Knoll Capital Management, Christopher Medlock James’s Partner Fund Management and Bain Capital’s Brookside Capital.
Since Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) has witnessed dropping sentiment from upper-tier hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of hedgies that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. At the top of the heap, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors dumped the largest position of all the hedgies we key on, totaling an estimated $26.4 million in stock. Peter Rathjens Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s fund, Arrowstreet Capital, also said goodbye to its stock, about $19.3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds last quarter.
How have insiders been trading Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN). These stocks are Theravance Inc (NASDAQ:THRX), Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN), Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY), Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc – Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:JAZZ), and Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA). This group of stocks are the members of the biotechnology industry and their market caps are similar to MDVN’s market cap.
Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
Theravance Inc (NASDAQ:THRX) | 24 | 1 | 5 |
Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) | 13 | 0 | 7 |
Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) | 17 | 0 | 5 |
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc – Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:JAZZ) | 25 | 0 | 14 |
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) | 17 | 0 | 10 |
Using the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s tactics, average investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) applies perfectly to this mantra.