Zygo Corporation (ZIGO): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO) investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of gauges investors can use to monitor their holdings. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can beat the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a number of motivations for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action regarding Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO).

What does the smart money think about Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO)?

At year’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -20% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Michael Kaufman’s MAK Capital One had the most valuable position in Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO), worth close to $62.8 million, comprising 13.7% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which held a $6.1 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.

Due to the fact that Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there were a few money managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes heading into 2013. It’s worth mentioning that Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital dropped the biggest investment of the 450+ funds we monitor, comprising close to $1.7 million in stock., and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron of Algert Coldiron Investors was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.7 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into 2013.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO) has seen 2 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 Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO). These stocks are Rudolph Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:RTEC), Mitcham Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:MIND), Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX), GSI Group Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:GSIG), and Telenav Inc (NASDAQ:TNAV). This group of stocks are the members of the scientific & technical instruments industry and their market caps are closest to ZIGO’s market cap.

With the results shown by our research, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Zygo Corporation (NASDAQ:ZIGO) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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