Hedge Funds Are Selling Calamos Asset Management, Inc (CLMS)

Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS) investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.

To most shareholders, hedge funds are perceived as slow, outdated financial vehicles of years past. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open today, we look at the leaders of this group, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group controls the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by tracking their highest performing investments, we have uncovered a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of motivations for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the recent action encompassing Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS).

How have hedgies been trading Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -22% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the most valuable position in Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS), worth close to $4.7 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, which held a $1.5 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Seeing as Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of money managers who were dropping their positions entirely at the end of the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Joseph A. Jolson’s Harvest Capital Strategies dumped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, totaling about $3 million in stock., and Tom Gayner of Markel Gayner Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $2.4 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds at the end of the first quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS) has seen 5 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS). These stocks are Solar Senior Capital Ltd (NASDAQ:SUNS), Fidus Investment Corp (NASDAQ:FDUS), Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN), FBR & Co (NASDAQ:FBRC), and Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DHIL). This group of stocks are the members of the asset management industry and their market caps resemble CLMS’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s research, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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