Alphatec Holdings Inc (ATEC): Insiders Are Buying, Should You?

Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. ATEC shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest in recent months. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with ATEC positions at the end of the previous quarter.

To most traders, hedge funds are perceived as unimportant, outdated investment tools of the past. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we at Insider Monkey look at the top tier of this group, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by tracking their highest performing stock picks, we have found a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).

Equally as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are many reasons for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a gander at the key action regarding Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC).

How are hedge funds trading Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 17% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Deerfield Management, managed by James E. Flynn, holds the largest position in Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC). Deerfield Management has a $3.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, which held a $0.7 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk’s GRT Capital Partners, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

Consequently, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, initiated the biggest position in Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC). Renaissance Technologies had 0.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns shown by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC) is no exception.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds