This Metric Says You Are Smart to Sell Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC)

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC)

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Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the latest action surrounding Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC).

How have hedgies been trading Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 62 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -9% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Highfields Capital Management, managed by Jonathon Jacobson, holds the most valuable position in Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC). Highfields Capital Management has a $306 million billion position in the stock, comprising 3.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, which held a $291 million position; the fund has 0.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include , Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and .

Since Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there exists a select few money managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, Kenneth Mario Garschina’s Mason Capital Management sold off the biggest stake of all the hedgies we track, worth an estimated $160 million in stock.. Doug Silverman’s fund, Senator Investment Group, also dropped its call options., about $49 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 6 funds at the end of the year.

Insider trading activity in Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results exhibited by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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