Should You Buy Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (PLX)?

Is Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX) undervalued? Prominent investors are betting on the stock. The number of long hedge fund positions improved by 2 recently.

At the moment, there are many indicators shareholders can use to watch the equity markets. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of reasons for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a look at the recent action regarding Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX).

How have hedgies been trading Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 50% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Camber Capital Management, managed by Stephen DuBois, holds the most valuable position in Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX). Camber Capital Management has a $4.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. On Camber Capital Management’s heels is First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, which held a $2.7 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include Nathan Fischel’s DAFNA Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers have jumped into Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX) headfirst. Camber Capital Management, managed by Stephen DuBois, assembled the largest position in Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX). Camber Capital Management had 4.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw also made a $0.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Insider trading activity in Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX) has experienced zero 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 Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. (NYSEAMEX:PLX). These stocks are Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM), Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS), Hyperion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HPTX), ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI), and Sangamo Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMO). All of these stocks are in the biotechnology industry and their market caps are similar to PLX’s market cap.