Fluidigm Corporation (FLDM): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. FLDM investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with FLDM positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the eyes of most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be underperforming, old investment vehicles of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at the moment, we hone in on the leaders of this group, close to 450 funds. It is estimated that this group oversees most of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by monitoring their best picks, we have revealed a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).

Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are many stimuli for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the key action surrounding Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM).

How have hedgies been trading Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -14% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.

Of the funds we track, OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, holds the largest position in Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM). OrbiMed Advisors has a $23.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Visium Asset Management, managed by Jacob Gottlieb, which held a $1.2 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Due to the fact that Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM) has experienced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of funds that elected to cut their full holdings heading into Q2. At the top of the heap, Scott Burney’s Bluefin Investment Management sold off the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, valued at about $5.2 million in stock., and SAC Subsidiary of CR Intrinsic Investors was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $1.8 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds heading into Q2.

What have insiders been doing with Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM)?

Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM) has seen 2 unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM). These stocks are FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO), Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX), Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS), Rudolph Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:RTEC), and Landauer, Inc. (NYSE:LDR). This group of stocks are in the scientific & technical instruments industry and their market caps match FLDM’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM) is no exception.

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