Is Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) worth your attention right now? The best stock pickers are getting more optimistic. The number of long hedge fund bets advanced by 1 recently.
To most shareholders, hedge funds are viewed as unimportant, old financial vehicles of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open today, we choose to focus on the masters of this club, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on most of the smart money’s total capital, and by monitoring their best picks, we have discovered a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX).
What does the smart money think about Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 17% 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 boosting their stakes considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Peter Kolchinsky’s RA Capital Management had the biggest position in Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX), worth close to $33.4 million, accounting for 7.2% of its total 13F portfolio. On RA Capital Management’s heels is Camber Capital Management, managed by Stephen DuBois, which held a $7.3 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
As aggregate interest increased, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the largest position in Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX). Millennium Management had 1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management also made a $0.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter.
How have insiders been trading Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX). These stocks are Obagi Medical Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMPI), Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ:VICL), Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR), 3SBio Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:SSRX), and XenoPort, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNPT). This group of stocks belong to the biotechnology industry and their market caps resemble NVAX’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Obagi Medical Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMPI) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ:VICL) | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR) | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 3SBio Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:SSRX) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| XenoPort, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNPT) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
With the results demonstrated by our time-tested strategies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) applies perfectly to this mantra.
