Vascular Solutions, Inc. (VASC): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Is Vascular Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:VASC) worth your attention right now? The best stock pickers are getting less optimistic. The number of long hedge fund positions fell by 2 in recent months.

In the eyes of most traders, hedge funds are perceived as underperforming, outdated investment tools of yesteryear. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open today, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the moguls of this group, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group has its hands on the majority of the smart money’s total capital, and by watching their best stock picks, we have discovered a few investment strategies that have historically outperformed the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see the details here).

Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a glance at the latest action surrounding Vascular Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:VASC).

How have hedgies been trading Vascular Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:VASC)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -22% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, holds the largest position in Vascular Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:VASC). GAMCO Investors has a $5.2 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $2.4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds with similar optimism include Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management, Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Seeing as Vascular Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:VASC) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few hedge funds that elected to cut their full holdings heading into Q2. Intriguingly, Nathan Fischel’s DAFNA Capital Management sold off the biggest investment of all the hedgies we watch, totaling an estimated $0.3 million in stock.. Richard Driehaus’s fund, Driehaus Capital, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.3 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into Q2.

How have insiders been trading Vascular Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:VASC)?

Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Vascular Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:VASC) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Vascular Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:VASC) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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