Jim Roumell’s Roumell Asset Management disclosed a reduction in its exposure to SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC) this week. According to the 13D form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the investment firm now holds a stake of 1.8 million common shares, representing 5.5% of the company’s outstanding stock. In addition, Douglas T. Granat’s Trigran Investments increased its position in NVE Corp (NASDAQ:NVEC) by around 55,400 shares. This latest transaction brings the fund’s total holding in the company to 480,200 shares, which represents almost 10% of the company’s outstanding stock.
Roumell Asset Management was founded in 1998 by Jim Roumell. The investment firm seeks to achieve long-term capital growth and income by making opportunistic value investments. As stated in its investment philosophy, this often means seeking out stocks that are underestimated or simply overlooked by other investors on Wall Street and can be purchased at a considerable discount relative to their intrinsic value. Roumell Asset Management has around $300 million in assets under management and an equity portfolio valued at $89 million. More than half of the stocks owned by the investment firm came from the information technology sector, while industrial and consumer discretionary stocks accounted for around 1/3 of its holdings.
According to its latest 13F filing, SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC) was the largest position in Roumell Asset Management’s equity portfolio; its top picks for 2014 also included Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK) and Rosetta Stone Inc (NYSE:RST). Despite the investment firm’s latest sale of shares of SeaChange International, it remains one of the company’s largest institutional investors. Douglas T. Granat’s Trigran Investments is also backing this stock, with a stake of 789,800 shares. In addition, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates became the company’s largest institutional shareholder, after increasing its exposure and disclosing a position of 2.7 million shares.
SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC) is an international provider of multi-screen videos products and services to cable system operators and telecommunications companies. In addition, the company develops application software used in the advertisement business. Roumell Asset Management has been bullish on SeaChange International for some time now, increasing its activist stake during 2014 and engaging with management. Earlier in September, the investment firm issued a letter to the company’s Board of Directors, outlining its position regarding the company and addressing several issues that may be the reason why the stock is undervalued. In yesterday’s filing, Jim Roumell indicated that he finds the stock attractive at its current price and has no intention of disposing any shares. The shares sold were a result of client redemptions and the weight of SEAC shares in Roumell Asset Management’s portfolio didn’t go down.
The other transaction mentioned earlier was undertaken by Trigran Investments, a fund founded by Douglas T. Granat in 1992 and currently headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. The employee owned hedge fund favors fundamental analysis, supported by in-house research, when making investments in the U.S. equity markets. Trigran Investments boasts an equity portfolio valued at around $271 million, which consists largely of information technology stocks. Its largest holdings include DTS Inc. (NASDAQ:DTS), Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY), and NVE Corp (NASDAQ:NVEC).
In addition to increasing its exposure to NVE Corp, the investment firm revoked a series of concerns it had raised in the past, regarding NVE Corp (NASDAQ:NVEC)’s lack of engagement in capital allocation programs. According to the statement disclosed in the 13D filing, Trigran Investments is satisfied with the capital allocation program announced by the company on January 21. This latest development – which promises to deliver considerable benefits for long term shareholders – surely motivated investment firm’s latest acquisition of additional shares of NVE Corp. Furthermore, the fact that the stock gained more than 23% in 2014 is another reason Trigran Investments maintains a bullish stance towards the company.
Mr. Granat’s fund increased its stake in NVE Corp (NASDAQ:NVEC ) for the second time since the end of the third quarter of 2014, while its activist stake in the stock accounts for more than 10% of its equity portfolio. According to our records, Trigran Investments stands as the company’s largest institutional investor, followed by Gregory Bylinsky and Jefferson Gramm’s Bandera Partners, which holds a position of 63,600 shares, as of the end of the third quarter.
Disclosure: none.
