Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It But Hedge Funds Love It

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Is Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) a buy?

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Just as necessary, positive insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are many motivations for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

What’s more, it’s important to study the latest info for Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL).

How are hedge funds trading Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL)?

At the end of the second quarter, a total of 36 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 50% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL)Out of the hedge funds we follow, Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, holds the biggest position in Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL). Balyasny Asset Management has a $124.4 million position in the stock, comprising 2.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, which held a $95.4 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital and Russell Lucas’s Lucas Capital Management.

As one would understandably expect, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, assembled the biggest position in Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL). Balyasny Asset Management had 124.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also made a $95.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new WLL positions are Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital, and Russell Lucas’s Lucas Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll go over the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL). These stocks are Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR), Penn West Petroleum Ltd (USA) (NYSE:PWE), Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:LNG), Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP), and QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP). All of these stocks are in the oil & gas drilling & exploration industry and their market caps are similar to WLL’s market cap.

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