Institutional investors like hedge fund managers and mutual fund managers report their investing activities on a regular basis, and this is interesting info to other investors looking to follow the “smart money.” Because these smart money investors have access to sophisticated research and have a lot of experience, the stocks they buy and sell can be an interesting starting point for your own research.
We ran a screen on stocks in the clean energy industry for those with the greatest net buying from institutional investors over the current quarter.
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the top six stocks mentioned below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.
We also created a price-weighted index of the stocks mentioned below, and monitored the performance of the list relative to the S&P 500 index over the last month. (To access a complete analysis of this list's recent performance, click here.)
Do you think hedge funds are calling it right on these names? Use this list as a starting point for your own analysis.
List sorted by net institutional purchases as a percent of share float.
1. Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles and advanced electric vehicle powertrain components. Market cap of $3.63B. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 9.6M, which is 17.45% of the company's 55.02M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 44.46% (equivalent to 23.89 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 13.15% over the last week.
2. General Cable Corp. (BGC) provides copper, aluminum, and fiber optic wire and cable products worldwide. Market cap of $1.40B. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 5.8M, which is 11.94% of the company's 48.57M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 6.09% (equivalent to 5.07 days of average volume). The stock has lost 13.2% over the last year.
3. Newpark Resources Inc. (NR) provides fluids management, waste disposal, and well site preparation products and services primarily to the oil and gas exploration and production industry. Market cap of $841.22M. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 8.2M, which is 9.13% of the company's 89.77M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 9.23% (equivalent to 6.7 days of average volume). The stock has had a good month, gaining 12.42%.
4. Fuel-Tech, Inc. (FTEK) uses a suite of advanced technologies to provide boiler optimization, efficiency improvement, and air pollution reduction and control solutions to utility and industrial customers worldwide. Market cap of $146.19M. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 1.6M, which is 8.99% of the company's 17.79M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 6.07% (equivalent to 7.3 days of average volume). The stock has recently rebounded, and is currently trading 7.78% above its SMA20 and 8.81% above its SMA50. However, the stock still trades 10.76% below its SMA200. The stock has had a good month, gaining 14.31%.
5. Calpine Corp. (CPN), an independent wholesale power generation company, owns and operates natural gas-fired and geothermal power plants in North America. Market cap of $6.66B. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 26.6M, which is 8.73% of the company's 304.70M share float. The stock has gained 20.9% over the last year.
6. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (WTS) designs, manufactures, and sells water safety and flow control products for the water quality, water conservation, water safety, and water flow control markets in North America, Europe, and China. Market cap of $1.32B. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 1.8M, which is 6.26% of the company's 28.77M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 6.95% (equivalent to 7.82 days of average volume). The stock has had a good month, gaining 20.41%.
7. MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR) engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry worldwide. Market cap of $1.08B. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 14.2M, which is 6.19% of the company's 229.54M share float. The stock is currently stuck in a downtrend, trading 17.48% below its SMA20, 22.73% below its SMA50, and 50.42% below its SMA200. The stock has performed poorly over the last month, losing 22.13%.
8. Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (BIN) operates as a vertically integrated waste management company in North America. Market cap of $2.43B. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 7.2M, which is 6.10% of the company's 118.00M share float. The stock has lost 8.89% over the last year.
9. Ameresco, Inc. (AMRC) provides energy efficiency solutions for facilities in North America. Market cap of $478.08M. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 821.6K, which is 5.28% of the company's 15.55M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 6.47% (equivalent to 6.89 days of average volume). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 9.36% over the last week.
10. Maxwell Technologies Inc. (MXWL) develops, manufactures, and markets energy storage and power delivery products, and microelectronic products. Market cap of $501.0M. Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter at 1.1M, which is 4.21% of the company's 26.15M share float. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 10.17% (equivalent to 11.26 days of average volume). The stock has gained 20.34% over the last year.
Data as of Nov. 15. Institutional data sourced from Fidelity; all other data sourced from Finviz.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
