Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (CKP)

Is Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP) worth your attention right now? The best stock pickers are in an optimistic mood. The number of long hedge fund positions increased by 3 in recent months.

According to most investors, hedge funds are assumed to be worthless, old investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at present, we hone in on the top tier of this club, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls most of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by tracking their top stock picks, we have brought to light a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).

Just as integral, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand where to look (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP).

Hedge fund activity in Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP)

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 25% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Jim Roumell’s Roumell Asset Management had the biggest position in Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP), worth close to $6.5 million, comprising 4% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Dmitry Balyasny of Balyasny Asset Management, with a $3.9 million call position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies with similar optimism include Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.

As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Balyasny Asset Management, managed by Dmitry Balyasny, created the most outsized call position in Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP). Balyasny Asset Management had 3.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management also initiated a $1.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CKP investors: Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

Insider trading activity in Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP)

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP). These stocks are CompX International Inc. (NYSEAMEX:CIX), Brink’S Co (NYSE:BCO), Ascent Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ASCMA), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ:KTOS), and American Science & Engineering, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASEI). This group of stocks are the members of the security & protection services industry and their market caps match CKP’s market cap.