JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. JAKK investors should pay attention to a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with JAKK positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Just as key, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are plenty of motivations for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the key action surrounding JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK).
Hedge fund activity in JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -8% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management had the most valuable position in JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK), worth close to $18.4 million, accounting for 0.4% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Richard S. Pzena of Pzena Investment Management, with a $16.7 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
Since JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) has faced falling interest from the smart money, we can see that there is a sect of money managers who sold off their full holdings heading into 2013. It’s worth mentioning that Boaz Weinstein’s Saba Capital cut the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, valued at an estimated $4.1 million in stock., and D. E. Shaw of D E Shaw was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $1.1 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds heading into 2013.
How are insiders trading JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK). These stocks are Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT), Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), Kid Brands Inc (NYSE:KID), Gaming Partners International Corp. (NASDAQ:GPIC), and LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LF). This group of stocks belong to the toys & games industry and their market caps match JAKK’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) | 22 | 0 | 15 |
| Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) | 15 | 0 | 7 |
| Kid Brands Inc (NYSE:KID) | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Gaming Partners International Corp. (NASDAQ:GPIC) | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LF) | 14 | 5 | 0 |
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
