Here is What Hedge Funds Think About ARC Document Solutions Inc (ARC)

Is ARC Document Solutions Inc (NYSE:ARC) the right investment to pursue these days? Hedge funds are taking an optimistic view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets advanced by 1 lately.

At the moment, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to watch their holdings. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a look at the key action surrounding ARC Document Solutions Inc (NYSE:ARC).

What does the smart money think about ARC Document Solutions Inc (NYSE:ARC)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 11% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Alexander Medina Seaver’s Stadium Capital Management had the biggest position in ARC Document Solutions Inc (NYSE:ARC), worth close to $14 million, accounting for 3.3% of its total 13F portfolio. On Stadium Capital Management’s heels is Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, which held a $7.1 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

Now, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Stadium Capital Management, managed by Alexander Medina Seaver, assembled the most outsized position in ARC Document Solutions Inc (NYSE:ARC). Stadium Capital Management had 14 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management also initiated a $7.1 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ARC investors: Ken Brodkowitz and Mike Vermut’s Newland Capital and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Insider trading activity in ARC Document Solutions Inc (NYSE:ARC)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time period, ARC Document Solutions Inc (NYSE:ARC) has seen 4 unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to ARC Document Solutions Inc (NYSE:ARC). These stocks are Mitek Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MITK), Pervasive Software Inc. (NASDAQ:PVSW), Exa Corp (NASDAQ:EXA), FalconStor Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:FALC), and PC Tel Inc (NASDAQ:PCTI). All of these stocks are in the application software industry and their market caps match ARC’s market cap.