To the average investor, there are dozens of indicators shareholders can use to watch stocks. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass the market by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as crucial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a variety of reasons for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s analyze the recent info for SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC).
How are hedge funds trading SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC)?
At the end of the second quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 15% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
According to our 13F database, Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP had the biggest position in SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC), worth close to $30.1 million, comprising 2.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Roumell Asset Management, managed by Jim Roumell, which held a $10.4 million position; 7.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other peers that hold long positions include Jason F. Harris’s Kendall Square Capital, Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management and John Zaro’s Bourgeon Capital.
As aggregate interest spiked, certain bigger names have jumped into SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC) headfirst. Starboard Value LP, managed by Jeffrey Smith, established the largest position in SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC). Starboard Value LP had 30.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Roumell’s Roumell Asset Management also initiated a $10.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new SEAC positions are Jason F. Harris’s Kendall Square Capital, Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management, and John Zaro’s Bourgeon Capital.
How are insiders trading SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC)?
Insider buying made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC). These stocks are Responsys Inc (NASDAQ:MKTG), Incontact Inc (NASDAQ:SAAS), NQ Mobile Inc (ADR) (NYSE:NQ), ePlus Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS), and Qualys Inc (NASDAQ:QLYS). This group of stocks belong to the application software industry and their market caps are closest to SEAC’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Responsys Inc (NASDAQ:MKTG) | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Incontact Inc (NASDAQ:SAAS) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| NQ Mobile Inc (ADR) (NYSE:NQ) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| ePlus Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Qualys Inc (NASDAQ:QLYS) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results shown by our research, regular investors must always track hedge fund and insider trading activity, and SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC) is no exception.
