Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (CMTL)?

Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. CMTL shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund interest in recent months. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with CMTL holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are plenty of methods market participants can use to track the equity markets. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. There are a number of incentives for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if you know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a gander at the key action regarding Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL).

What does the smart money think about Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -17% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, holds the largest position in Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL). AQR Capital Management has a $9 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On AQR Capital Management’s heels is Matthew Hulsizer of PEAK6 Capital Management, with a $6.7 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

Because Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) has witnessed a declination in interest from the smart money, we can see that there was a specific group of funds that slashed their entire stakes heading into Q2. At the top of the heap, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management sold off the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at about $1.7 million in stock., and Neil Chriss of Hutchin Hill Capital was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.5 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into Q2.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL). These stocks are Sierra Wireless, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:SWIR), 8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ:CAMP), Allot Communications Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALLT), and Calix Inc (NYSE:CALX). This group of stocks belong to the communication equipment industry and their market caps resemble CMTL’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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