What Does Hedge Fund Sentiment Say About NetApp Inc. (NTAP)?

Insider Monkey finished processing more than 700 13F filings made by hedge funds and prominent investors. These filings show these funds’ portfolio positions as of September 30. What do these smart investors think about NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)?

Hedge fund interest in NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS), Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ADR) (NYSE:ASX), and LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) to gather more data points.

In today’s marketplace there are a lot of formulas stock traders use to analyze publicly traded companies. A couple of the less known formulas are hedge fund and insider trading interest. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can beat the broader indices by a healthy margin (see the details here).

Now, let’s take a look at the fresh action surrounding NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP).

Hedge fund activity in NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

At Q3’s end, a total of 26 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, flat from the second quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Renaissance Technologies holds the largest position in NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP). Renaissance Technologies has a $48.3 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, which holds a $44.1 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish consist of David Harding’s Winton Capital Management, Ahmet Okumus’ Okumus Fund Management and Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP.