Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI) has seen a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately.
To the average investor, there are plenty of gauges shareholders can use to track the equity markets. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can outpace the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if you understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the recent action regarding Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI).
What have hedge funds been doing with Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Michael Blitzer’s Kingstown Capital Management had the biggest position in Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI), worth close to $23.8 million, accounting for 4.3% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Michael Doheny of Freshford Capital Management, with a $20.9 million position; 3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital and Howard Guberman’s Gruss Asset Management.
Since Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI) has witnessed a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers that slashed their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Raymond J. Harbert’s Harbert Management cut the biggest stake of all the hedgies we track, valued at about $2 million in stock., and Glenn J. Krevlin of Glenhill Advisors was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $1.9 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
How are insiders trading Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI). These stocks are Performant Financial Corp (NASDAQ:PFMT), COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR), Examworks Group, Inc. (NYSE:EXAM), Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT), and American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI). This group of stocks belong to the business services industry and their market caps are similar to CNSI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Performant Financial Corp (NASDAQ:PFMT) | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| COMSCORE, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Examworks Group, Inc. (NYSE:EXAM) | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) | 11 | 0 | 6 |
With the returns exhibited by our strategies, everyday investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Comverse Inc (NASDAQ:CNSI) is an important part of this process.
