In the financial world, there are many gauges investors can use to watch stocks. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are lots of stimuli for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a look at the recent action encompassing Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT).
How have hedgies been trading Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -27% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.
Of the funds we track, John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies had the most valuable position in Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT), worth close to $1.9 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. On Levin Capital Strategies’s heels is Michael R. Weisberg of Crestwood Capital Management, with a $1.5 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, John Wu’s Sureview Capital and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Because Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT) has faced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there is a sect of funds who were dropping their full holdings in Q1. It’s worth mentioning that Peter A. Wright’s P.A.W. CAPITAL PARTNERS dumped the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, comprising close to $1.9 million in stock., and Joseph A. Jolson of Harvest Capital Strategies was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $0.5 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds in Q1.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero 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 Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT). These stocks are Pactera Technology Intl Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ:PACT), Official Payments Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OPAY), Datawatch Corporation (NASDAQ:DWCH), Callidus Software Inc. (NASDAQ:CALD), and Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI). This group of stocks are in the business software & services industry and their market caps are similar to VELT’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Pactera Technology Intl Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ:PACT) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Official Payments Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OPAY) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Datawatch Corporation (NASDAQ:DWCH) | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Callidus Software Inc. (NASDAQ:CALD) | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| Perion Network Ltd (NASDAQ:PERI) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
