In the financial world, there are a multitude of methods shareholders can use to analyze their holdings. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of reasons for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if you know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a gander at the key action regarding Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG).
How are hedge funds trading Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG)?
At year’s end, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 13% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Michael Johnston’s Steelhead Partners had the largest position in Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG), worth close to $9.7 million, comprising 0.7% of its total 13F portfolio. On Steelhead Partners’s heels is Dmitry Balyasny of Balyasny Asset Management, with a $9.3 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds with similar optimism include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Jon Bauer’s Contrarian Capital.
Now, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Steelhead Partners, managed by Michael Johnston, established the biggest position in Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG). Steelhead Partners had 9.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp also made a $0.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG). These stocks are Magnum Hunter Resources Corp (NYSE:MHR), Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd (USA) (NYSE:AAV), Parker Drilling Company (NYSE:PKD), and Pioneer Energy Services Corp (NYSE:PES). All of these stocks are in the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps are similar to VTG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Magnum Hunter Resources Corp (NYSE:MHR) | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd (USA) (NYSE:AAV) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Parker Drilling Company (NYSE:PKD) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Pioneer Energy Services Corp (NYSE:PES) | 8 | 1 | 0 |
With the results demonstrated by our research, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Vantage Drilling Company (NYSEAMEX:VTG) applies perfectly to this mantra.
