Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. ATRO investors should pay attention to a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with ATRO holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are a multitude of methods market participants can use to track publicly traded companies. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outclass the market by a solid amount (see just how much).
Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are plenty of incentives for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest action regarding Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO).
What have hedge funds been doing with Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO), worth close to $3.6 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $1.1 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
Since Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) has witnessed a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that elected to cut their entire stakes in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management cut the biggest stake of the 450+ funds we monitor, totaling an estimated $0.5 million in stock.. Cliff Asness’s fund, AQR Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.3 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
How are insiders trading Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO). These stocks are AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR), LMI Aerospace, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMIA), Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC), AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), and TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR). This group of stocks are in the aerospace/defense products & services industry and their market caps are closest to ATRO’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) | 13 | 0 | 4 |
| LMI Aerospace, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMIA) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC) | 14 | 1 | 2 |
| AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASR) | 16 | 1 | 2 |
With the returns demonstrated by our tactics, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) is no exception.
