Should you suit up with Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR)? Hedgies are.
In the eyes of many of your fellow readers, hedge funds are assumed to be overrated, old financial tools of an era lost to time. Although there are over 8,000 hedge funds trading today, this site looks at the bigwigs of this group, around 525 funds. It is assumed that this group controls the lion’s share of the smart money’s total assets, and by keeping an eye on their best picks, we’ve unsheathed a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped the S&P 500. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually 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 topped the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (explore the details and some picks here).
Just as necessary, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to analyze the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to discuss the recent info about Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR).
Hedge fund activity in Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR)
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 5% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
According to our 13F database, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the largest position in Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR). Renaissance Technologies has a $38.3 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $35.5 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the titans, particular hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, assembled the biggest position in Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR). Renaissance Technologies had 38.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also initiated a $35.5 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new EXPR investors: D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.
How have insiders been trading Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Using the returns explained by Insider Monkey’s strategies, average investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Express, Inc. (NYSE:EXPR) applies perfectly to this mantra.
