Is Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (TRIB) An Unheralded Micro-Cap Stock Worth Owning?

There are several ways to beat the market, and investing in small-cap stocks has historically been one of them. We like to improve our odds of beating the market further by examining what famous hedge fund operators such as Carl Icahn and George Soros think. Those hedge fund operators make billions of dollars each year by hiring the best and the brightest to do research on stocks, including micro- and small-cap stocks that big brokerage houses simply don’t cover. Because of Carl Icahn and other elite funds’ exemplary historical records, we pay special attention to their picks in these unheralded stocks. In this article, we use hedge fund filing data to analyze Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:TRIB).

Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:TRIB) investors should be aware of an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. TRIB was in 20 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with TRIB holdings at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA), Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT), and Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE:NM) to gather more data points.

If you’d ask most traders, hedge funds are seen as unimportant, outdated investment tools of years past. While there are greater than 8,000 funds trading at present, we look at the masters of this group, approximately 700 funds. These investment experts have their hands on most of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by watching their best equity investments, Insider Monkey has uncovered numerous investment strategies that have historically outpaced the broader indices. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy exceeded the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points annually for a decade in their back tests.

Now, we’re going to go over the new action encompassing Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:TRIB).

How have hedgies been trading Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:TRIB)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a 5% boost from the second quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially (or had already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Richard S. Meisenberg’s ACK Asset Management has the number one position in Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:TRIB), worth close to $10.6 million, comprising 4.4% of its total 13F portfolio. The second-largest stake is held by Cardinal Capital, led by Amy Minella, holding a $9.7 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish contain Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Richard Mashaal’s RIMA Senvest Management, and Peter S. Park’s Park West Asset Management.

With general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. PDT Partners, managed by Peter Muller, initiated the largest position in Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:TRIB). PDT Partners had $0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:TRIB) but similarly valued. These stocks are American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA), Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT), Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE:NM), and Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE:PHX). All of these stocks’ market caps resemble TRIB’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $43 million. That figure was $57 million in TRIB’s case. Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Trinity Biotech plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:TRIB) is tied for the most popular stock in this group and has an above average amount of smart money’s capital invested in it. This is a positive signal, and makes this stock one worth investigating further and possible adding to one’s portfolio.