Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. VCBI has experienced a decrease in hedge fund interest recently. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with VCBI holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are dozens of indicators shareholders can use to watch stocks. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of reasons for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the recent action surrounding Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI).
How are hedge funds trading Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -14% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Harvard Management Co, managed by Jane Mendillo, holds the largest position in Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI). Harvard Management Co has a $10.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.9% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Basswood Capital, managed by Matthew Lindenbaum, which held a $4.7 million position; the fund has 0.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Paul Touradji’s TOURADJI CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LP.
Due to the fact that Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that slashed their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management cut the biggest position of the 450+ funds we track, comprising an estimated $0.3 million in stock., and Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $0.2 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds last quarter.
Insider trading activity in Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time period, Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCBI) applies perfectly to this mantra.