Investor sentiment, investor crowded-trade behavior, and limited arbitrage in the cross section of stock returns

We examine the interaction effects of investor sentiment, investor crowded-trade behavior, and limited arbitrage on the cross section of stock returns. This paper presents strong evidence to reveal that investor crowded-trade behavior will increase stock prices greatly (little) among stocks with positive (negative) investor sentiment; and investor sentiment will increase (not increase) stock prices among stocks with extreme seller-initiated (buyer-initiated) crowded-trade behavior. Furthermore, this paper finds that the benchmark-adjusted returns are positive among stocks with relatively positive investor sentiment and buyer-initiated crowded-trade behavior, and negative among stocks with relatively negative investor sentiment and seller-initiated crowded-trade behavior. Finally, this paper demonstrates that limited arbitrage plays more roles on stocks with pessimistic sentiment and seller-initiated crowded-trade behavior. Taken together, this paper confirms the combined effects of investor sentiment and investor crowded-trade behavior on the cross section of stock returns, and further explores the moderating effect of limited arbitrage.