ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management assembled the most outsized position in ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS). Millennium Management had $22.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies also made a $7.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ANSS positions are Andrew Sandler’s Sandler Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and George Hall’s Clinton Group.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP), Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), Marine Harvest ASA (NYSE:MHG), and Westar Energy Inc (NYSE:WR). This group of stocks’ market caps match ANSS’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 27 funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $651 million. That figure was $658 million in ANSS’s case. Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Marine Harvest ASA (NYSE:MHG) is the least popular one with only five investors holding long positions. ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.

Disclosure: none