Do Hedge Funds Love Antero Resources Corp (AR)?

Because Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR) has witnessed a bearish sentiment from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedge funds that slashed their positions entirely in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Alan Fournier’s Pennant Capital Management dumped the largest position of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $57.9 million in stock, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $3.6 million worth of shares. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR) but similarly valued. These stocks are Markit Ltd (NASDAQ:MRKT), iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (NASDAQ:ACWI), Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG), and Columbia Pipeline Group Inc (NYSE:CPGX). All of these stocks’ market caps resemble Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR)’s market cap.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 13 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $169 million. That figure was $881 million in Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR)’s case. Columbia Pipeline Group Inc (NYSE:CPGX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (NASDAQ:ACWI) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR) 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, Columbia Pipeline Group Inc (NYSE:CPGX) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.