This Metric Says You Are Smart to Buy Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART) – Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ:PODD), HeartWare International Inc (NASDAQ:HTWR)

Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART) investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund interest lately.

To the average investor, there are dozens of gauges investors can use to track the equity markets. A pair of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. There are many motivations for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a look at the key action surrounding Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART).

What have hedge funds been doing with Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART)?

At year’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 11% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, holds the largest position in Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART). Adage Capital Management has a $29 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management, with a $18 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that hold long positions include Mark Broach’s Manatuck Hill Partners, Douglas W. Case’s Advanced Investment Partners and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, created the most outsized position in Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART). Renaissance Technologies had 1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management also initiated a $1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new IART positions are Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Insider trading activity in Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART)

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART). These stocks are DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM), Endologix, Inc. (NASDAQ:ELGX), Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ:PODD), ICU Medical, Incorporated (NASDAQ:ICUI), and HeartWare International Inc (NASDAQ:HTWR). This group of stocks belong to the medical instruments & supplies industry and their market caps are closest to IART’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:IART) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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