Is Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:XPLR) a good place to invest some of your money right now? We can gain invaluable insight to help us answer that question by studying the investment trends of top investors, who employ world-class Ivy League graduates, who are given immense resources and industry contacts to put their financial expertise to work. The top picks of these firms have historically outperformed the market when we account for known risk factors, making them very valuable investment ideas.
Xplore Technologies Corp. shares haven’t seen a lot of action during the third quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 4 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. At the end of this article we will also compare XPLR to other stocks, including Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALDX), Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS), and Comstock Mining, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LODE) to get a better sense of its popularity.
If you’d ask most shareholders, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, outdated financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds trading at present, Our researchers choose to focus on the leaders of this group, about 700 funds. These hedge fund managers preside over the lion’s share of the smart money’s total asset base, and by keeping track of their highest performing picks, Insider Monkey has come up with various investment strategies that have historically defeated Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per year for a decade in their back tests.
Now, we’re going to take a gander at the fresh action encompassing Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:XPLR).
Hedge fund activity in Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:XPLR)
At Q3’s end, a total of 4 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, flat over the quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Keane Capital Management, managed by Peter Keane, holds the largest position in Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:XPLR). Keane Capital Management has a $1 million position in the stock, comprising 1.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Vertex One Asset Management, led by John Thiessen, holding a $0.9 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Josh Goldberg’s G2 Investment Partners Management and Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies.
We view hedge fund activity in the stock unfavorable, but in this case there was only a single hedge fund selling its entire position: Springbok Capital. One hedge fund selling its entire position doesn’t always imply a bearish intent. Theoretically a hedge fund may decide to sell a promising position in order to invest the proceeds in a more promising idea. However, we don’t think this is the case in this case because only one of the 700+ hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey identified as a viable investment and initiated a position in the stock (that fund was Renaissance Technologies).
Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:XPLR). We will take a look at Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALDX), Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS), Comstock Mining, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LODE), and Cyren Ltd (NASDAQ:CYRN). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble XPLR’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALDX | 7 | 13025 | 0 |
| ASYS | 4 | 9742 | 0 |
| LODE | 4 | 3173 | -1 |
| CYRN | 5 | 10683 | 2 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $9 million, compared to just $3 million in XPLR’s case. Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALDX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:XPLR) registers the same level of popularity as XPLR. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies mentioned in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.