Is GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK) a good investment right now? The best stock pickers are taking an optimistic view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets advanced by 1 in recent months.
If you’d ask most stock holders, hedge funds are perceived as slow, old financial vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds trading at the moment, we hone in on the elite of this group, around 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group has its hands on most of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their best equity investments, we have revealed a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if investors know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a glance at the key action surrounding GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK).
What have hedge funds been doing with GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 13% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Stephen DuBois’s Camber Capital Management had the biggest position in GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK), worth close to $12.3 million, accounting for 1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, which held a $8 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group.
As one would reasonably expect, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Point State Capital, managed by Sean Cullinan, assembled the most valuable position in GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK). Point State Capital had 6.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $0.2 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners.
Insider trading activity in GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time period, GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK). These stocks are Cardiovascular Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSII), Natus Medical Inc (NASDAQ:BABY), Invacare Corporation (NYSE:IVC), Symmetry Medical Inc. (NYSE:SMA), and Cynosure, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYNO). This group of stocks are the members of the medical appliances & equipment industry and their market caps are similar to GNMK’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSII) | 12 | 1 | 4 |
| Natus Medical Inc (NASDAQ:BABY) | 16 | 1 | 5 |
| Invacare Corporation (NYSE:IVC) | 16 | 8 | 0 |
| Symmetry Medical Inc. (NYSE:SMA) | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| Cynosure, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYNO) | 16 | 0 | 2 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and GenMark Diagnostics, Inc (NASDAQ:GNMK) applies perfectly to this mantra.
