Is Vera Bradley, Inc. (VRA) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Should Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) investors track the following data?

In the financial world, there are plenty of gauges shareholders can use to monitor the equity markets. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can trounce the broader indices by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a number of motivations for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s examine the recent info surrounding Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA).

How have hedgies been trading Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 13% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA). Royce & Associates has a $68.7 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan of Tiger Global Management LLC, with a $19.7 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies with similar optimism include Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Consequently, particular hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, created the biggest position in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA). Royce & Associates had 68.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC also made a $19.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management, Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Insider trading activity in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA)

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA). These stocks are Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO), Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:ICON), Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI), Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX), and Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX). This group of stocks are the members of the textile – apparel footwear & accessories industry and their market caps are closest to VRA’s market cap.

Using the returns shown by the previously mentioned research, regular investors must always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) is no exception.

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