Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. VCBI investors should be aware of a stagnant enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with VCBI holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
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Just as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a glance at the latest action surrounding Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI).
How are hedge funds trading Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI)?
At year’s end, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Basswood Capital, managed by Matthew Lindenbaum, holds the biggest position in Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI). Basswood Capital has a $9.5 million position in the stock, comprising 1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $2.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
How have insiders been trading Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI). These stocks are Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN), Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR), Union First Market Bankshares Corp. (NASDAQ:UBSH), WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS), and TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN). This group of stocks are the members of the regional – mid-atlantic banks industry and their market caps are closest to VCBI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN) | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Union First Market Bankshares Corp. (NASDAQ:UBSH) | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned tactics, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI) applies perfectly to this mantra.
