Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late.

To most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, old financial tools of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds trading today, we hone in on the bigwigs of this group, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group oversees the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their top equity investments, we have discovered a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (explore the details and some picks here).

Equally as important, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are many incentives for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you understand where to look (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action encompassing Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK).

What have hedge funds been doing with Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 29 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 45% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.

Of the funds we track, Jeffrey Ubben’s ValueAct Capital had the largest position in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), worth close to $365 million billion, comprising 4.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by TPG-AXON Management LP, managed by Dinakar Singh, which held a $112 million position; 5.8% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital and Michael Karsch’s Karsch Capital Management.

As aggregate interest increased, some big names were breaking ground themselves. TPG-AXON Management LP, managed by Dinakar Singh, created the most valuable position in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK). TPG-AXON Management LP had 112 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also made a $95 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ADSK investors: Michael Karsch’s Karsch Capital Management, Glenn J. Krevlin’s Glenhill Advisors, and Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group.

Insider trading activity in Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results shown by our strategies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) is no exception.

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