Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD) has seen a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently.
To the average investor, there are dozens of indicators investors can use to watch Mr. Market. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).
Equally as key, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are lots of reasons for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
Now, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD).
Hedge fund activity in Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD)
In preparation for this year, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -14% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Viking Global, managed by Andreas Halvorsen, holds the biggest position in Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD). Viking Global has a $85 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $12 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that are bullish include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, Drew Cupps’s Cupps Capital Management and Van Schreiber’s Bennett Lawrence Management.
Seeing as Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD) has faced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of funds that slashed their entire stakes at the end of the year. Intriguingly, David Stemerman’s Conatus Capital Management dropped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, totaling about $23 million in stock.. Sean Cullinan’s fund, Point State Capital, also dumped its stock, about $5 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds at the end of the year.
How are insiders trading Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD). These stocks are Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO), Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI), Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR), and FEI Company (NASDAQ:FEIC). This group of stocks are the members of the scientific & technical instruments industry and their market caps are similar to CPHD’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| FEI Company (NASDAQ:FEIC) | 17 | 0 | 6 |
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s research, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
