How Gastar Exploration Inc (GST) Stacks Up Against Its Peers

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Judging by the fact that Gastar Exploration Inc (NYSMKT:GST) has sustained declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few hedgies who were dropping their positions entirely in the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Seth Fischer’s Oasis Management got rid of the largest position of all the investors watched by Insider Monkey, worth about $1.4 million in stock. Benjamin A. Smith’s fund, Laurion Capital Management, also sold off its stock, about $0.4 million worth.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Gastar Exploration Inc (NYSEMKT:GST). We will take a look at Arowana Inc. Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:ARWA), Attunity Ltd (NASDAQ:ATTU), Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH), and Gridsum Holding Inc – ADR (NASDAQ:GSUM). All of these stocks’ market caps match GST’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
ARWA 6 12688 0
ATTU 6 13133 -1
AUPH 3 867 -2
GSUM 17 48219 17

As you can see these stocks had an average of 8 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $19 million. That figure was $10 million in GST’s case. Gridsum Holding Inc – ADR (NASDAQ:GSUM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) is the least popular one with only 3 bullish hedge fund positions. Gastar Exploration Inc (NYSEMKT:GST) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard GSUM might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.

Disclosure: None

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