Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI) has experienced an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to analyze the equity markets. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outperform the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as important, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. There are a variety of reasons for a corporate insider to drop 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 tactic if you understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a gander at the key action surrounding Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI).
How have hedgies been trading Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 17% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors had the most valuable position in Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI), worth close to $1.8 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Michael M. Rothenberg and David Sackler of Moab Capital Partners, with a $1 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that are bullish include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Consequently, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Moab Capital Partners, managed by Michael M. Rothenberg and David Sackler, initiated the biggest position in Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI). Moab Capital Partners had 1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $0.4 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ:TAXI). These stocks are Nicholas Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:NICK), Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:AACC), Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSS), Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:AGM), and Regional Management Corp (NYSE:RM). This group of stocks are in the credit services industry and their market caps are similar to TAXI’s market cap.
