At Insider Monkey, we pore over the filings of more than 700 top investment firms every quarter, a process we have now completed for the latest reporting period. The data we’ve gathered as a result gives us access to a wealth of collective knowledge based on these firms’ portfolio holdings as of September 30. In this article, we will use that wealth of knowledge to determine whether or not Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) makes for a good investment right now.
Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) was in 5 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. IMMU shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with IMMU holdings at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE:ODC), KVH Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KVHI), and Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE:CLD) to gather more data points.
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Today there are a multitude of signals market participants employ to appraise their stock investments. Two of the less known signals are hedge fund and insider trading signals. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see the details here).
With all of this in mind, let’s check out the fresh action surrounding Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU).
Hedge fund activity in Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU)
At Q3’s end, a total of 5 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -44% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors has the most valuable position in Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU), worth close to $5.7 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Balyasny Asset Management, led by Dmitry Balyasny, holding a $3.4 million position; the fund has less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Another smart money long IMMU is D E Shaw.
Judging by the fact that Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) has witnessed declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there were a few fund managers who sold off their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. Interestingly, James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management dumped the biggest investment of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $10.2 million in call options, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $4.9 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 4 funds by the end of the third quarter.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU). We will take a look at Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE:ODC), KVH Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KVHI), Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE:CLD), and Brightcove Inc (NASDAQ:BCOV). This group of stocks’ market valuations are closest to IMMU’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ODC | 4 | 29092 | 0 |
| KVHI | 9 | 28024 | -1 |
| CLD | 15 | 15305 | 0 |
| BCOV | 14 | 13877 | -1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $22 million. That figure was $11 million in IMMU’s case. Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE:CLD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE:ODC) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard CLD might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
