To the average investor, there are many indicators investors can use to analyze publicly traded companies. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outclass the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Equally as important, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a gander at the recent action regarding ValueVision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVTV).
How have hedgies been trading ValueVision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVTV)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -42% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.
Due to the fact that ValueVision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVTV) has witnessed falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few funds who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management sold off the biggest position of all the hedgies we watch, valued at close to $0.3 million in stock.. Curtis Schenker and Craig Effron’s fund, Scoggin, also dumped its stock, about $0.2 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 5 funds last quarter.
How are insiders trading ValueVision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVTV)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, ValueVision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVTV) has seen 5 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to ValueVision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVTV). These stocks are Acorn International, Inc. (ADR) (NYSE:ATV), E Commerce China Dangdang Inc (ADR) (NYSE:DANG), Gaiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:GAIA), Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK), and Vitacost.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITC). This group of stocks are in the catalog & mail order houses industry and their market caps resemble VVTV’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Acorn International, Inc. (ADR) (NYSE:ATV) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| E Commerce China Dangdang Inc (ADR) (NYSE:DANG) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:GAIA) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| Vitacost.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITC) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
With the results shown by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and ValueVision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVTV) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
