Hedge Funds Are Crazy About Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)

Is Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) the right investment to pursue these days? Prominent investors are buying. The number of bullish hedge fund bets advanced by 5 in recent months.

To the average investor, there are many methods market participants can use to monitor stocks. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are lots of stimuli for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action encompassing Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR).

What does the smart money think about Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 29 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 21% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group had the biggest position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR), worth close to $152 million, accounting for 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. On Citadel Investment Group’s heels is Ric Dillon of Diamond Hill Capital, with a $82 million position; 0.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Daniel Benton’s Andor Capital Management.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, created the biggest position in Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR). Highbridge Capital Management had 57 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Joe DiMenna’s ZWEIG DIMENNA PARTNERS also made a $13 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new JNPR investors: Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, Philippe Jabre’s Jabre Capital Partners, and SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management.

How have insiders been trading Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results shown by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) is an important part of this process.

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