Is it smart to be bullish on Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PTP)?
In the financial world, there are plenty of methods investors can use to watch Mr. Market. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Equally as useful, bullish insider trading activity is another way to analyze the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of incentives for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Thus, let’s analyze the latest info surrounding Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PTP).
How have hedgies been trading Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PTP)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -21% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
Because Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PTP) has experienced a fall in interest from the smart money’s best and brightest, logic holds that there were a few hedgies that slashed their entire stakes in Q1. Intriguingly, Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management said goodbye to the largest position of the 450+ funds we watch, comprising an estimated $10.7 million in stock. Raymond J. Harbert’s fund, Harbert Management, also dropped its stock, about $7.5 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds in Q1.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PTP)?
Insider buying is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PTP) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PTP). These stocks are Enstar Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESGR), Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:ENH), MBIA Inc. (NYSE:MBI), Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR), and Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN). This group of stocks are the members of the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps resemble PTP’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Enstar Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESGR) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:ENH) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| MBIA Inc. (NYSE:MBI) | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN) | 29 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results shown by the previously mentioned analyses, regular investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:PTP) is an important part of this process.
