Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. EPAY has experienced an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with EPAY positions at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are a multitude of gauges market participants can use to watch the equity markets. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are many stimuli for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a glance at the latest action regarding Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY).
How have hedgies been trading Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 14% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management had the most valuable position in Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY), worth close to $8.2 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Highbridge Capital Management’s heels is Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which held a $5.5 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include John Murphy’s Alydar Capital, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital.
As aggregate interest increased, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, established the most valuable position in Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY). Highbridge Capital Management had 8.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Murphy’s Alydar Capital also made a $4.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter.
How have insiders been trading Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time period, Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 7 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 Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY). These stocks are Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB), Interactive Intelligence Group Inc (NASDAQ:ININ), MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR), NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT), and Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA). All of these stocks are in the business software & services industry and their market caps are closest to EPAY’s market cap.
