After several tireless days we have finished crunching the numbers from the more than 700 13F filings issued by the elite hedge funds and other investment firms that we track at Insider Monkey, which disclosed those firms’ equity portfolios as of September 30. The results of that effort will be put on display in this article, as we share valuable insight into the smart money sentiment towards LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT).
LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT)’s stock is 15% in green in the last month and recently several investors have boosted their price targets on the stock. During the third quarter, the number of funds bullish on the stock, among those we follow, inched up by one and 11 funds reported holding shares of the company as of the end of September. At the end of this article we will also compare LMAT to other stocks, including Lipocine Inc (NASDAQ:LPCN), VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC), and Ivy High Income Opportunities Fund (NYSE:IVH) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Follow Lemaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT)
Follow Lemaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT)
To most stock holders, hedge funds are assumed to be worthless, old investment vehicles of the past. While there are greater than an 8000 funds with their doors open today, Our researchers choose to focus on the leaders of this club, approximately 700 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors have their hands on the lion’s share of the smart money’s total capital, and by observing their matchless picks, Insider Monkey has spotted various investment strategies that have historically exceeded Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per annum for a decade in their back tests.
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action surrounding LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT).
How have hedgies been trading LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 10% from the second quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Richard Driehaus’ Driehaus Capital has the biggest position in LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT), worth close to $6.7 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Cannell Capital, led by J. Carlo Cannell, holding a $5 million position; the fund has 1.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish comprise Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, and Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management.
Now, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. McKinley Capital Management established the most outsized position in LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT). McKinley Capital Management had $1.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Neil Chriss’ Hutchin Hill Capital also made a $0.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT). We will take a look at Lipocine Inc (NASDAQ:LPCN), VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC), Ivy High Income Opportunities Fund (NYSE:IVH), and vTv Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:VTVT). This group of stocks’ market caps match LMAT’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| LPCN | 11 | 57213 | -1 |
| VSEC | 5 | 5343 | -1 |
| IVH | 4 | 5088 | 1 |
| VTVT | 6 | 4557 | 6 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 7 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $18 million. That figure was $19 million in LMAT’s case. Lipocine Inc (NASDAQ:LPCN) is the most popular stock in this table with 11 funds reporting stakes in the company. On the other hand, Ivy High Income Opportunities Fund (NYSE:IVH) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. LeMaitre Vascular Inc (NASDAQ:LMAT) registers the same level of interest as Lipocine, which suggests that it may be an interesting investment, but more research is required to make a decision regarding the stock’s profitability.
