OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ) has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently.
To most shareholders, hedge funds are viewed as unimportant, old investment tools of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we choose to focus on the elite of this group, around 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on the majority of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by monitoring their best stock picks, we have unearthed a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).
Just as important, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of motivations for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the recent action encompassing OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ).
Hedge fund activity in OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ)
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -29% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management had the largest position in OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ), worth close to $0.6 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. On AQR Capital Management’s heels is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $0.2 million call position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Judging by the fact that OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ) has faced falling interest from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedgies that decided to sell off their positions entirely in Q1. Interestingly, Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management dropped the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we track, comprising about $6.3 million in stock.. Matthew Hulsizer’s fund, PEAK6 Capital Management, also cut its call options., about $0.1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds in Q1.
How are insiders trading OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time period, OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ). These stocks are Dot Hill Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:HILL), Datalink Corporation (NASDAQ:DTLK), Hutchinson Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:HTCH), STEC, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEC), and Imation Corp. (NYSE:IMN). All of these stocks are in the data storage devices industry and their market caps match OCZ’s market cap.
