To the average investor, there are plenty of gauges market participants can use to analyze stocks. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as useful, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
What’s more, let’s discuss the recent info for Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL).
How have hedgies been trading Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL)?
At Q2’s end, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 40% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.
According to our 13F database, Robert Karr’s Joho Capital had the most valuable position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL), worth close to $46.8 million, comprising 4% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Andrew Sandler of Sandler Capital Management, with a $26.4 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
As aggregate interest spiked, particular hedge funds have jumped into Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) headfirst. Joho Capital, managed by Robert Karr, established the largest position in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL). Joho Capital had 46.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Andrew Sandler’s Sandler Capital Management also initiated a $26.4 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new HXL investors: D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
Insider trading activity in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL)
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL). These stocks are Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE:ATK), CAE, Inc. (USA) (NYSE:CAE), Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc (NYSE:HII), Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR), and Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY). All of these stocks are in the aerospace/defense products & services industry and their market caps match HXL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE:ATK) | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| CAE, Inc. (USA) (NYSE:CAE) | 0 | 0 | |
| Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc (NYSE:HII) | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR) | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) | 14 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns explained by our strategies, regular investors should always track hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) is no exception.
