What Do Hedge Funds Think of Sizmek Inc (SZMK)?

Most investors tend to think that hedge funds and other asset managers are worthless, as they cannot beat even simple index fund portfolios. In fact, most people expect hedge funds to compete with and outperform the bull market that we have witnessed over the past few years. However, hedge funds are generally partially hedged and aim at delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns rather than following the ups and downs of equity markets hoping that they will outperform the broader market. Our research shows that hedge funds do have great stock picking skills, so let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK).

Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK) investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately. SZMK was in an 8 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with SZMK holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare SZMK to other stocks including Autobytel Inc. (NASDAQ:ABTL), Mattson Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSN), and First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) to get a better sense of its popularity.

Now, we’re going to check out the new action regarding Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK).

Hedge fund activity in Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK)

At Q3’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -20% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Roumell Asset Management, managed by Jim Roumell, holds the biggest position in Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK). Roumell Asset Management has a $7.6 million position in the stock, comprising 15.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Stadium Capital Management, led by Alexander Medina Seaver, holding a $4.9 million position; 1.8% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other members of the smart money that are bullish encompass Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and D E Shaw.

Since Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK) has experienced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers that slashed their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, Mark N. Diker’s Diker Management said goodbye to the largest stake of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $0.4 million in stock. Ken Griffin’s fund, Citadel Investment Group, also sold off its stock, about $0.3 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds last quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK) but similarly valued. These stocks are Autobytel Inc. (NASDAQ:ABTL), Mattson Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSN), First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW), and TESSCO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TESS). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble SZMK’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of an 8.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $18 million. That figure was $22 million in SZMK’s case. Autobytel Inc. (NASDAQ:ABTL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand FIRST FINANCIAL NORTHWEST, INC. (NASDAQ:FFNW) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Sizmek Inc (NASDAQ:SZMK) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard ABTL might be a better candidate to consider a long position.