Moving on to JMP Group Inc. (NYSE:JMP), an independent Director, Jonathan M. Orszag purchased 20,000 shares at a price of $7.42 per share, for a total value of $148,480. Orszag now owns 78,812 shares of the company following this purchase. The stock has gained more than 4% so far today, due to the announcement that shareholders as of the market close on Tuesday will be eligible for a dividend of $0.07 per share. The investment banking company reported its financial results for the second quarter on Friday. The company reported net income of $0.22 per share, beating the Street’s consensus estimate of under $0.20 EPS. The company also reported a 22% increase in net income year-over-year. “In the second quarter, JMP Group continued its strong performance, with operating EPS increasing 22% year over year to $0.22,” CEO and Chairman of JMP Group, Joe Jolson was quoted as saying in a company statement. Year-to-date the stock has lost 2.5% of its value and since its high in March, has lost close to 13%. There were four hedge funds with a total investment of $6.1 million in the stock at the end of March, compared to a total investment of $5.7 million by six hedge funds at the end of 2014. Given the stock appreciation of 10% during the January – March period, we can say that hedge funds were slightly bearish on the stock. Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Chuck Royce‘s Royce and Associates held the largest position in the stock at the end of March, with around 585,000 shares worth close to $4.9 million.
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Finally, looking at 8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the company, Vikram Verma purchased 12,300 shares on July 28 for a price of $8.09 per share, for a total of $99,507. There was also a key insider sale of this stock on July 27, as Chief Technology Officer Bryan Martin sold 2,800 shares for a price of $8.40 per share. Verma and Martin are left with 195,534 shares and 1,165,110 shares respectively after their latest transactions. There have been no other insider purchases or sales of shares in 2015. The stock has lost 10% so far this year, and since its 52-week high on June 25, has lost around 14% of its value. The company reported its fiscal 2016 first quarter results on July 22, posting a total revenue increase of 23% year-over-year to $46.7 million. 8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) also reported a net loss of $0.01 for the quarter, as opposed to flat earnings during the same period in 2014. “I am pleased to report the completion of a very successful first quarter start to 8×8’s fiscal 2016,” CEO Verma was quoted as saying in a company statement. By the end of March there were 11 hedge funds with a total investment of $40.3 million in 8×8, as opposed to an investment of $50.4 million by eight hedge funds at the end of 2014. Considering a drop in share value of 7.5% during the first quarter, we can say that hedge funds opted to pull a lot of money out of this stock. Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Archon Capital Management led by Constantinos J. Christofills held the largest position in the stock, with around 2.7 million shares valued at $22.8 million by the end of the first trimester.
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