Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. CWTR shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with CWTR positions at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are dozens of methods market participants can use to analyze Mr. Market. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of reasons for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a glance at the key action surrounding Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR).
Hedge fund activity in Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR)
In preparation for this year, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Wexford Capital, managed by Charles Davidson, holds the largest position in Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR). Wexford Capital has a $4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $3 million position; the fund has 0% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Mark Broach’s Manatuck Hill Partners and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
Because Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR) has faced declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there were a few funds that decided to sell off their entire stakes at the end of the year. Interestingly, Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital dropped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, totaling about $3 million in stock., and Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What have insiders been doing with Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR). These stocks are Exceed Co Ltd (NASDAQ:EDS), K Swiss Inc (NASDAQ:KSWS), R.G. Barry Corp. (NASDAQ:DFZ), Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF), and Rocky Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKY). This group of stocks are the members of the textile – apparel footwear & accessories industry and their market caps resemble CWTR’s market cap.
