Is Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) a buy right now? Investors who are in the know are turning bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund bets advanced by 4 in recent months.
In the financial world, there are plenty of metrics market participants can use to analyze publicly traded companies. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of stimuli for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a glance at the key action regarding Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX).
What does the smart money think about Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)?
At year’s end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 44% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, holds the largest position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX). Adage Capital Management has a $40 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $33 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
Now, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, created the biggest position in Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX). Renaissance Technologies had 10 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors also initiated a $3 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new GNTX investors: Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.
How have insiders been trading Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX). These stocks are Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (NYSE:ALSN), WABCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE:WBC), Tenneco Inc (NYSE:TEN), Dana Holding Corporation (NYSE:DAN), and Visteon Corp (NYSE:VC). All of these stocks are in the auto parts industry and their market caps match GNTX’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (NYSE:ALSN) | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| WABCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE:WBC) | 30 | 0 | 7 |
| Tenneco Inc (NYSE:TEN) | 18 | 0 | 12 |
| Dana Holding Corporation (NYSE:DAN) | 31 | 0 | 2 |
| Visteon Corp (NYSE:VC) | 39 | 3 | 4 |
With the results demonstrated by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) applies perfectly to this mantra.
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