Is Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI) undervalued? The best stock pickers are taking a bearish view. The number of long hedge fund bets stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience
At the moment, there are dozens of indicators shareholders can use to track Mr. Market. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see just how much).
Just as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. There are many motivations for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI).
How have hedgies been trading Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI). Royce & Associates has a $5.7 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, which held a $1.2 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Douglas W. Case’s Advanced Investment Partners and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Due to the fact that Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI) has experienced falling interest from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedge funds that decided to sell off their entire stakes in Q1. It’s worth mentioning that Mike Vranos’s Ellington said goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies we watch, totaling close to $0.1 million in stock.. Steven Cohen’s fund, SAC Capital Advisors, also sold off its stock, about $0.1 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What have insiders been doing with Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time period, Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI). These stocks are IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT), Lumos Networks Corp (NASDAQ:LMOS), RigNet Inc (NASDAQ:RNET), Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE:VG), and Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM). This group of stocks are in the diversified communication services industry and their market caps are closest to PGI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT) | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Lumos Networks Corp (NASDAQ:LMOS) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| RigNet Inc (NASDAQ:RNET) | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE:VG) | 17 | 0 | 7 |
| Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) | 7 | 2 | 1 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE:PGI) is an important part of this process.
