Is Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA) ready to raly soon? The smart money is in a bearish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions shrunk by 1 lately.
In the financial world, there are dozens of methods investors can use to monitor stocks. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Just as key, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are many motivations for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the recent action encompassing Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA).
Hedge fund activity in Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA)
Heading into 2013, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -13% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA). Royce & Associates has a $6 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Glenhill Advisors, managed by Glenn J. Krevlin, which held a $1.2 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Judging by the fact that Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA) has experienced falling interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there was a specific group of funds who were dropping their entire stakes in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital sold off the largest stake of the 450+ funds we watch, comprising close to $1.4 million in stock.. Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s fund, Algert Coldiron Investors, also sold off its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds in Q4.
How have insiders been trading Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA) has seen 2 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 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 Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA). These stocks are Country Syl Ckng Restaurant Chain Co Ltd (NYSE:CCSC), Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBRG), Nathan’s Famous, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATH), Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BAGL), and Luby’s, Inc. (NYSE:LUB). All of these stocks are in the restaurants industry and their market caps are closest to JMBA’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Country Syl Ckng Restaurant Chain Co Ltd (NYSE:CCSC) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBRG) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Nathan’s Famous, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATH) | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BAGL) | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Luby’s, Inc. (NYSE:LUB) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA) is an important part of this process.
