Is Regulus Therapeutics Inc (RGLS) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Due to the fact that Regulus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RGLS) has experienced a declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of hedgies that slashed their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, Benjamin A. Smith’s Laurion Capital Management sold off the biggest stake of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, worth about $0.8 million in stock. Renaissance Technologies also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.6 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds last quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Regulus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RGLS) but similarly valued. These stocks are First Defiance Financial (NASDAQ:FDEF), Versartic Inc (NASDAQ:VSAR), Everi Holdings Inc (NYSE:EVRI), and American Vanguard Corp. (NYSE:AVD). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to RGLS’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $62 million. That figure was $46 million in RGLS’s case. Everi Holdings Inc (NYSE:EVRI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand American Vanguard Corp. (NYSE:AVD) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Regulus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RGLS) 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 EVRI might be a better candidate to consider a long position.