Is Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX) an excellent investment now? The best stock pickers are reducing their bets on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund bets decreased by 2 in recent months.
To the average investor, there are dozens of methods shareholders can use to monitor publicly traded companies. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).
Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. There are a variety of reasons for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if you understand where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a look at the latest action regarding Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX).
How have hedgies been trading Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -29% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX). Royce & Associates has a $10.7 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that hold long positions include James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Since Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX) has witnessed a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers who sold off their entire stakes at the end of the year. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management said goodbye to the largest position of all the hedgies we monitor, valued at close to $1.7 million in stock.. Paul Tudor Jones’s fund, Tudor Investment Corp, also dropped its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds at the end of the year.
How are insiders trading Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX). These stocks are AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG), Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ:SNTA), Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL), Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ:NEOG), and Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIVO). This group of stocks are the members of the diagnostic substances industry and their market caps resemble ABAX’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG) | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ:SNTA) | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ:NEOG) | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIVO) | 8 | 1 | 5 |
With the returns shown by our tactics, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Abaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ABAX) applies perfectly to this mantra.
