Should You Avoid Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (IDIX)?

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Is Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX) an excellent stock to buy now? Investors who are in the know are taking a bearish view. The number of bullish hedge fund positions dropped by 6 in recent months.

Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX)At the moment, there are dozens of indicators shareholders can use to track publicly traded companies. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can beat the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).

Equally as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a variety of motivations for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the key action surrounding Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX).

How are hedge funds trading Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -30% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Baupost Group, managed by Seth Klarman, holds the largest position in Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX). Baupost Group has a $92.2 million position in the stock, comprising 3% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Bain Capital of Brookside Capital, with a $44.8 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Stephen DuBois’s Camber Capital Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Jacob Doft’s Highline Capital Management.

Since Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX) has witnessed falling interest from the smart money, logic holds that there is a sect of hedgies who were dropping their entire stakes heading into Q2. It’s worth mentioning that Roberto Mignone’s Bridger Management said goodbye to the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, comprising close to $14.3 million in stock., and John Burbank of Passport Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $5 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 6 funds heading into Q2.

How are insiders trading Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IDIX). These stocks are Hyperion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HPTX), QLT Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:QLTI), Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS), Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI), and Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM). This group of stocks belong to the biotechnology industry and their market caps are similar to IDIX’s market cap.

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