Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. PJC investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with PJC holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of methods investors can use to monitor the equity markets. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outpace the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of stimuli for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if investors know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action surrounding Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC).
What does the smart money think about Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 67% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC). Royce & Associates has a $16 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Brian Taylor of Pine River Capital Management, with a $7 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Kroch’s GRT Capital Partners and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Consequently, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, established the biggest position in Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC). Arrowstreet Capital had 0 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC). These stocks are GFI Group Inc. (NYSE:GFIG), Medley Capital Corp (NYSE:MCC), FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR), and BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP). This group of stocks are the members of the investment brokerage – national industry and their market caps are closest to PJC’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| GFI Group Inc. (NYSE:GFIG) | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Medley Capital Corp (NYSE:MCC) | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM) | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by our strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
