First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:FTLS) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:FTLS) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $74.79 and last traded at $74.15, with a volume of 5573 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.88.

First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF Trading Up 0.3%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 0.51.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTLS. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 728.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 507,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,057,000 after acquiring an additional 446,569 shares during the period. VestGen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,855,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,417,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,161,000 after acquiring an additional 231,155 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 673,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,633,000 after acquiring an additional 209,579 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF by 159.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 245,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,396,000 after acquiring an additional 150,598 shares during the period.

About First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF

The First Trust Long\u002FShort Equity ETF (FTLS) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in long\u002Fshort alternatives. The fund takes both long and short position in US-listed equity with US and foreign exposure. The actively managed funds will typically be 90-100% long and 0-50% short. FTLS was launched on Sep 9, 2014 and is managed by First Trust.