Do you like to follow the buying trends of "smart money" investors such as hedge fund and mutual fund managers? For ideas on how to start your search, we ran a screen.
We began by screening for the 200 largest US-traded stocks by market cap, which we refer to as mega-cap stocks. We then screened for those seeing the most significant net institutional selling over the current quarter, indicating institutional investors such as hedge fund managers and mutual fund managers expect these names to underperform.
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in market cap over the last two years for the 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 fund managers are right to doubt these names? Use this list as a starting point for your own analysis.
1. Amgen Inc. (AMGN): Develops, manufactures, and markets human therapeutics based on advances in cellular and molecular biology for grievous illnesses primarily in the United States, Europe, and Canada. Market cap at $53.48B. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -59.6M shares, which represents about 7.54% of the company's float of 789.96M shares.
2. Bank of Montreal (BMO): Provides a range of retail banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and solutions in North America and internationally. Market cap at $38.03B. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -30.7M shares, which represents about 4.8% of the company's float of 639.69M shares.
3. The Bank Of Nova Scotia (BNS): Offers various personal, commercial, corporate, and investment banking services in Canada and internationally. Market cap at $63.89B. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -58.5M shares, which represents about 5.13% of the company's float of 1.14B shares.
4. ConocoPhillips (COP): Operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. Market cap at $116.90B. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -56.1M shares, which represents about 4.38% of the company's float of 1.28B shares.
5. News Corp. (NWSA): Operates as a diversified media company worldwide. Market cap at $49.18B. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -63.9M shares, which represents about 3.03% of the company's float of 2.11B shares.
*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.
