Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI) was in 4 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. PERI shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 3 hedge funds in our database with PERI holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of metrics market participants can use to monitor their holdings. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a number of reasons for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action encompassing Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI).
What have hedge funds been doing with Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 4 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 33% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, Coghill Capital Management, managed by Clint Coghill, holds the most valuable position in Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI). Coghill Capital Management has a $5.1 million position in the stock, comprising 3.7% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $2.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Clint Coghill’s Coghill Capital Management, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
As aggregate interest increased, key money managers have jumped into Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI) headfirst. Coghill Capital Management, managed by Clint Coghill, assembled the most outsized position in Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI). Coghill Capital Management had 5.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital also initiated a $0.2 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new PERI position is Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
How are insiders trading Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time frame, Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI). These stocks are Callidus Software Inc. (NASDAQ:CALD), Pactera Technology Intl Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ:PACT), Official Payments Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OPAY), Datawatch Corporation (NASDAQ:DWCH), and Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT). This group of stocks are in the business software & services industry and their market caps resemble PERI’s market cap.
