Travelzoo Inc. (TZOO): Insiders Are Buying, Should You?

Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO) was in 5 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. TZOO investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with TZOO positions at the end of the previous quarter.

To the average investor, there are tons of gauges market participants can use to analyze Mr. Market. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can beat the market by a solid amount (see just how much).

Equally as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of stimuli for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a look at the latest action regarding Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO).

How have hedgies been trading Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO)?

At year’s end, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -38% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Bares Capital Management, managed by Brian Bares, holds the largest position in Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO). Bares Capital Management has a $11.7 million position in the stock, comprising 2.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Bares Capital Management’s heels is Joel Greenblatt of Gotham Asset Management, with a $2.3 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Due to the fact that Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there were a few hedge funds who sold off their entire stakes at the end of the year. Interestingly, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw dropped the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at an estimated $2.5 million in stock., and John Thaler of JAT Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $2.5 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds at the end of the year.

What have insiders been doing with Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 4 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 Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO). These stocks are SouFun Holdings Limited (ADR) (NYSE:SFUN), Move Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE), Global Sources Ltd. (Bermuda) (NASDAQ:GSOL), Bitauto Hldg Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:BITA), and Renren Inc (NYSE:RENN). This group of stocks are in the internet information providers industry and their market caps match TZOO’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ:TZOO) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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