Hedge Funds Are Buying Newpark Resources Inc (NR)

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What’s a smart Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) investor to do?

To the average investor, there are plenty of indicators shareholders can use to monitor publicly traded companies. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can beat the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as crucial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a number of incentives for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

Thus, it’s important to examine the latest info surrounding Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR).

Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR)

How have hedgies been trading Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR)?

Heading into Q3, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 30% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the most valuable position in Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR), worth close to $13.8 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell of Arrowstreet Capital, with a $3.8 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

As aggregate interest spiked, particular hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, initiated the largest position in Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR). Citadel Investment Group had 45.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Michael A. Price and Amos Meron’s Empyrean Capital Partners also initiated a $19 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

What have insiders been doing with Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR). These stocks are C&J Energy Services Inc (NYSE:CJES), Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO), Basic Energy Services, Inc (NYSE:BAS), GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF), and TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI). This group of stocks are the members of the oil & gas equipment & services industry and their market caps match NR’s market cap.

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