Here is What Hedge Funds Think About QuinStreet Inc (QNST)

QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. QNST investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with QNST holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

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Equally as beneficial, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a number of motivations for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if investors know what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a glance at the latest action regarding QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST).

How are hedge funds trading QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -22% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST). Royce & Associates has a $11.4 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is D. E. Shaw of D E Shaw, with a $1.3 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Since QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST) has faced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings heading into Q2. It’s worth mentioning that Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management sold off the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, worth close to $3.5 million in stock.. Charles Davidson’s fund, Wexford Capital, also dumped its stock, about $0.2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds heading into Q2.

How are insiders trading QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST) has experienced zero 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 QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST). These stocks are ModusLink Global Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLNK), Support.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRT), Vocus, Inc. (NASDAQ:VOCS), Keynote Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:KEYN), and ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CKSW). This group of stocks are the members of the internet software & services industry and their market caps resemble QNST’s market cap.

With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and QuinStreet Inc (NASDAQ:QNST) is no exception.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds