The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently.

According to most traders, hedge funds are viewed as slow, old investment vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we look at the bigwigs of this group, close to 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group has its hands on the majority of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their top picks, we have deciphered a few investment strategies that have historically outpaced the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (check out a sample of our picks).

Equally as key, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are many motivations for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a peek at the latest action regarding The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN).

What have hedge funds been doing with The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN)?

At year’s end, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -17% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Icahn Capital LP, managed by Carl Icahn, holds the largest position in The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN). Icahn Capital LP has a $393 million position in the stock, comprising 3.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Philippe Laffont of Coatue Management, with a $103 million position; the fund has 1.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors and James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management.

Since The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there was a specific group of fund managers who were dropping their positions entirely in Q4. At the top of the heap, Panayotis æTakisÆ Sparaggis’s Alkeon Capital Management cut the biggest position of the 450+ funds we key on, totaling close to $19 million in stock., and William Harnisch of Peconic Partners LLC was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $6 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 4 funds in Q4.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN)?

Insider buying is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) has experienced 2 unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned research, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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