Is MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS) worth your attention right now? Hedge funds are becoming less confident. The number of long hedge fund bets were cut by 1 in recent months.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of gauges shareholders can use to track stocks. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can trounce the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as important, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of stimuli for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action encompassing MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS).
How are hedge funds trading MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -5% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group had the largest position in MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS), worth close to $70 million, comprising 1.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $46 million position; 1.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors, Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management and SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management.
Seeing as MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS) has witnessed declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there were a few money managers that elected to cut their entire stakes at the end of the year. Intriguingly, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw cut the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, comprising about $1 million in stock.. Phil Frohlich’s fund, Prescott Group Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $1 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds at the end of the year.
How have insiders been trading MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS) is an important part of this process.
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