Because Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO) has faced a falling interest from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedgies who sold off their full holdings in the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Mark Lampert’s Biotechnology Value Fund / BVF Inc cut the largest investment of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, totaling close to $0.6 million in stock. Anand Parekh’s fund, Alyeska Investment Group, also dropped its stock, about $0.1 million worth of shares. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in the third quarter.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Epirus Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EPRS), Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRML), Digital Turbine Inc (NASDAQ:APPS), and Ocean Shore Holding Co (NASDAQ:OSHC). This group of stocks’ market caps matches Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO)’s market cap.
Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
---|---|---|---|
EPRS | 10 | 32328 | 0 |
VRML | 4 | 6506 | 1 |
APPS | 7 | 11912 | 0 |
OSHC | 6 | 7200 | 1 |
As you can see, these stocks had an average of 7 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $14 million. That figure was $10 million in Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO)’s case. Epirus Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EPRS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRML) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal, but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Epirus Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EPRS) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.