Is Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS) a bargain? Hedge funds are getting more optimistic. The number of long hedge fund bets advanced by 1 in recent months.
In today’s marketplace, there are tons of gauges investors can use to analyze the equity markets. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Equally as important, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action encompassing Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS).
What have hedge funds been doing with Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Richard S. Meisenberg’s ACK Asset Management had the largest position in Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS), worth close to $9.4 million, comprising 4.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk of GRT Capital Partners, with a $0.6 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers with similar optimism include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds have jumped into Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS) headfirst. PEAK6 Capital Management, managed by Matthew Hulsizer, assembled the largest position in Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS). PEAK6 Capital Management had 0.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management also initiated a less than $1 million position during the quarter.
How have insiders been trading Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS). These stocks are Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM), Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI), Rofin-Sinar Technologies (NASDAQ:RSTI), FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO), and Landauer, Inc. (NYSE:LDR). This group of stocks are the members of the scientific & technical instruments industry and their market caps match MEAS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM) | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) | 5 | 0 | 12 |
| Rofin-Sinar Technologies (NASDAQ:RSTI) | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) | 13 | 1 | 3 |
| Landauer, Inc. (NYSE:LDR) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Measurement Specialties, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEAS) applies perfectly to this mantra.
