What’s a Smart Priceline.com Inc (PCLN) Investor To Do?

Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) was in 67 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. PCLN investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 70 hedge funds in our database with PCLN holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to monitor their holdings. A pair of the most underrated 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 hedge fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of reasons for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a look at the key action surrounding Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN).

Hedge fund activity in Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 67 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -4% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Lone Pine Capital, managed by Stephen Mandel, holds the largest position in Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN). Lone Pine Capital has a $1.2182 billion position in the stock, comprising 6.3% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Blue Ridge Capital, managed by John Griffin, which held a $307.6 million position; 3.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management and Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital.

Due to the fact that Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) has faced falling interest from the smart money, logic holds that there were a few fund managers that elected to cut their entire stakes in Q1. Interestingly, Robert Boucai’s Newbrook Capital Advisors dumped the largest stake of all the hedgies we watch, worth about $50.3 million in stock., and Israel Englander of Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $36.8 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds in Q1.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s tactics, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds