Should You Buy VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (VDSI)?

VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI) shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately.

In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of metrics market participants can use to watch stocks. Some of the most innovative 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 best fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. There are a variety of incentives for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a peek at the key action regarding VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI).

What does the smart money think about VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 63% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the biggest position in VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI), worth close to $11.9 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt, which held a $1.6 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management, Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Private Capital Management, managed by Gregg J. Powers, initiated the most valuable position in VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI). Private Capital Management had 1.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also made a $0.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new VDSI positions are Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk’s GRT Capital Partners, and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

What have insiders been doing with VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI). These stocks are Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:WAVX), Mantech International Corp (NASDAQ:MANT), AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASIA), KEYW Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:KEYW), and Intralinks Holdings Inc (NYSE:IL). All of these stocks are in the security software & services industry and their market caps resemble VDSI’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VDSI) is an important part of this process.

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