Is EZCORP Inc (EZPW) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.

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Keeping this in mind, let’s take a peek at the latest action surrounding EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW).

Hedge fund activity in EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW)

Heading into Q2, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -12% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Thomas E. Claugus’s GMT Capital had the biggest position in EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW), worth close to $45.3 million, accounting for 1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Gregg J. Powers of Private Capital Management, with a $33.7 million position; the fund has 3.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies with similar optimism include Peter S. Park’s Park West Asset Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

Due to the fact that EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) has experienced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of hedge funds that elected to cut their entire stakes at the end of the first quarter. Interestingly, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies said goodbye to the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we track, worth close to $2.8 million in stock.. Glenn Russell Dubin’s fund, Highbridge Capital Management, also dumped its call options., about $0.7 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds at the end of the first quarter.

How are insiders trading EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW). These stocks are Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL), OfficeMax Inc (NYSE:OMX), Francesca’s Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FRAN), and Office Depot Inc (NYSE:ODP). This group of stocks are in the specialty retail, other industry and their market caps are closest to EZPW’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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