Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) has seen an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately.
To the average investor, there are a multitude of metrics market participants can use to track stocks. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform the market by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of motivations for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the key action regarding Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO).
Hedge fund activity in Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO)
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 25% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
Of the funds we track, Daniel Gold’s QVT Financial had the biggest position in Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO), worth close to $19.8 million, accounting for 1.3% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Baker Bros. Advisors, managed by Julian Baker and Felix Baker, which held a $18.3 million position; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include Jerome Pfund and Michael Sjostrom’s Sectoral Asset Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Bailard Inc, managed by Thomas Bailard, initiated the largest position in Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO). Bailard Inc had 0.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital also initiated a $0.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments and Tom Russo’s Gardner Russo & Gardner.
How are insiders trading Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time period, Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO). These stocks are InterMune Inc (NASDAQ:ITMN), Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MACK), TESARO Inc (NASDAQ:TSRO), ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD), and EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS). This group of stocks belong to the biotechnology industry and their market caps resemble HALO’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| InterMune Inc (NASDAQ:ITMN) | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MACK) | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| TESARO Inc (NASDAQ:TSRO) | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) | 10 | 1 | 4 |
| EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
With the results shown by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
