Hedge Funds Are Buying Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI)

Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI) shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest lately.

In the eyes of most stock holders, hedge funds are perceived as underperforming, outdated financial tools of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at the moment, we at Insider Monkey look at the moguls of this club, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on the lion’s share of the smart money’s total capital, and by watching their best investments, we have spotted a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (explore the details and some picks here).

Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI)

Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the stock market universe. There are plenty of stimuli for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if you understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI).

What have hedge funds been doing with Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI)?

At year’s end, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 19% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Larry Foley and Paul Farrell’s Bronson Point Partners had the biggest position in Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI), worth close to $29 million, comprising 2.8% of its total 13F portfolio. On Bronson Point Partners’s heels is Passport Capital, managed by John Burbank, which held a $16 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Two Sigma Advisors, managed by John Overdeck and David Siegel, assembled the biggest position in Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI). Two Sigma Advisors had 7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also made a $1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Mike Vranos’s Ellington, Bart Baum’s Ionic Capital Management, and Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital.

Insider trading activity in Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI)

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 frame, Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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