Is Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR) a good investment right now? The best stock pickers are becoming less confident. The number of bullish hedge fund positions shrunk by 1 lately.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are many methods shareholders can use to watch stocks. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can beat the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are many incentives for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action surrounding Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR).
What have hedge funds been doing with Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 25 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -4% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.
Of the funds we track, Matt Sirovich and Jeremy Mindich’s Scopia Capital had the most valuable position in Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR), worth close to $284 million billion, accounting for 11.5% of its total 13F portfolio. On Scopia Capital’s heels is Orbis Investment Management, managed by William B. Gray, which held a $79 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and John Osterweis’s Osterweis Capital Management.
Due to the fact that Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR) has experienced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of hedgies that decided to sell off their positions entirely in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Larry Foley and Paul Farrell’s Bronson Point Partners dropped the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at close to $18 million in stock., and Richard Driehaus of Driehaus Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $9 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds in Q4.
What have insiders been doing with Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns shown by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR) is no exception.
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