Ion Geophysical Corp (IO): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Judging by the fact that Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO) has witnessed a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few money managers that elected to cut their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management said goodbye to the largest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $0.1 million in stock. Joel Greenblatt’s fund, Gotham Asset Management, also dropped its stock, about $45,000 worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Global Power Equipment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GLPW), S&W Seed Company (NASDAQ:SANW), Ocera Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:OCRX), and AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI). All of these stocks’ market caps are closest to Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO)’s market cap.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 8 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $14 million. That figure was $2 million in Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO)’s case. Global Power Equipment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GLPW) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO) is not the most popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal, but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Global Power Equipment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GLPW) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.