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Now, let’s take a gander at the recent action surrounding Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN).
How have hedgies been trading Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -44% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, holds the biggest position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN). Arrowstreet Capital has a $37.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Irving Kahn of Kahn Brothers, with a $35.1 million position; 6.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Seeing as Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there were a few hedge funds who were dropping their positions entirely at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC cut the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we track, totaling close to $29 million in stock., and Mark Travis of Intrepid Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $25.7 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 8 funds at the end of the year.
Insider trading activity in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN). These stocks are Pengrowth Energy Corp (USA) (NYSE:PGH), Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC), Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK), Enerplus Corp (USA) (NYSE:ERF), and Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW). All of these stocks are in the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps match PTEN’s market cap.
