What Do Hedge Funds Think of Vuzix Corporation (VUZI)?

The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We have processed the filings of the more than 700 world-class investment firms that we track and now have access to the collective wisdom contained in these filings, which are based on their September 30 holdings, data that is available nowhere else. Should you consider Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) for your portfolio? We’ll look to this invaluable collective wisdom for the answer.

Vuzix Corporation has seen an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as bebe stores, inc. (NASDAQ:BEBE), Universal Stainless & Alloy Products (NASDAQ:USAP), and Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF) to gather more data points.

If you’d ask most shareholders, hedge funds are assumed to be slow, outdated financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at the moment, Our experts hone in on the masters of this group, approximately 700 funds. These hedge fund managers manage most of the smart money’s total capital, and by keeping track of their finest picks, Insider Monkey has revealed many investment strategies that have historically surpassed the market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per year for a decade in their back tests.

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI).

How are hedge funds trading Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI)?

At Q3’s end, a total of 6 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Michael Kao’s Akanthos Capital has the number one position in Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI), worth close to $1.9 million, amounting to 2.8% of its total 13F portfolio. On Akanthos Capital’s heels is Mark Coe of Coe Capital Management, with a $0.4 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other professional money managers that hold long positions comprise Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, and Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle’s Springbok Capital.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI). We will take a look at bebe stores, inc. (NASDAQ:BEBE), Universal Stainless & Alloy Products (NASDAQ:USAP), Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF), and Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:YGE). This group of stocks’ market caps match VUZI’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 4.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $14 million. That figure was $3 million in VUZI’s case. Universal Stainless & Alloy Products (NASDAQ:USAP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand bebe stores, inc. (NASDAQ:BEBE) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.