Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of metrics market participants can use to track publicly traded companies. A couple of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the marketplace. There are a number of incentives for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
Now, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action encompassing Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH).
What does the smart money think about Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 40% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the biggest position in Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH), worth close to $62.4 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which held a $23.2 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Consequently, some big names have jumped into Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) headfirst. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, initiated the most valuable position in Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH). Highbridge Capital Management had 6.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Shane Finemore’s Manikay Partners also made a $3.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
How have insiders been trading Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH). These stocks are Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRO), Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE:MSA), Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN), STERIS Corp (NYSE:STE), and Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK). All of these stocks are in the medical appliances & equipment industry and their market caps match TECH’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRO) | 27 | 0 | 1 |
| Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE:MSA) | 17 | 0 | 6 |
| Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) | 17 | 0 | 5 |
| STERIS Corp (NYSE:STE) | 18 | 0 | 12 |
| Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) | 7 | 4 | 1 |
With the returns shown by our strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is an important part of this process.
