Is Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX) a sound investment today? Money managers are becoming hopeful. The number of long hedge fund bets went up by 2 lately.
In today’s marketplace, there are many metrics investors can use to watch stocks. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top hedge fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. There are a variety of stimuli for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action regarding Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX).
Hedge fund activity in Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX)
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 40% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX). Royce & Associates has a $13.9 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $0.9 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds have jumped into Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX) headfirst. PEAK6 Capital Management, managed by Matthew Hulsizer, assembled the largest call position in Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX). PEAK6 Capital Management had 0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp also initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ABAX positions are Mike Vranos’s Ellington and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.
What have insiders been doing with Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX). These stocks are AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG), Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ:SNTA), Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL), Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ:NEOG), and Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIVO). This group of stocks belong to the diagnostic substances industry and their market caps are closest to ABAX’s market cap.
