Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.
At the moment, there are a multitude of gauges shareholders can use to monitor the equity markets. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a number of reasons for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a peek at the latest action regarding Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO).
What does the smart money think about Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -11% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the most valuable position in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO), worth close to $156.6 million, comprising 0.5% of its total 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is John W. Rogers of Ariel Investments, with a $103.5 million position; 2.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.
Since Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) has witnessed a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there were a few hedgies that slashed their full holdings in Q4. At the top of the heap, Mark Travis’s Intrepid Capital Management dropped the largest investment of the 450+ funds we track, totaling an estimated $34.5 million in stock., and Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick of First Pacific Advisors LLC was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $32.8 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds in Q4.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO). These stocks are Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. (NYSE:ST), FEI Company (NASDAQ:FEIC), Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD), Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR), and Compagnie Generale de Gephysqu Vrts SA (NYSE:CGG). This group of stocks are in the scientific & technical instruments industry and their market caps are closest to BIO’s market cap.
