The 700+ hedge funds and money managers tracked by Insider Monkey have already compiled and submitted their 13F filings for the third quarter, which unveil their equity positions as of September 30. We went through these filings, fixed typos and other more significant errors and identified the changes in hedge fund positions. Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over, so this article is set to reveal the smart money sentiment towards Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC).
Hedge fund interest in Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC) shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. 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 Inuvo, Inc. (NYSEMKT:INUV), TransAct Technologies Incorporated (NASDAQ:TACT), and Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) to gather more data points.
Follow Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC)
Follow Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC)
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit there are dozens of gauges market participants have at their disposal to value publicly traded companies. Two of the most useful gauges are hedge fund and insider trading moves. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see the details here).
Now, we’re going to check out the new action encompassing Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC).
How are hedge funds trading Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC)?
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Peter Schliemann’s Rutabaga Capital Management has the biggest position in Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC), worth close to $6.3 million, amounting to 0.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Jeffrey Bronchick of Cove Street Capital, with a $0.7 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that are bullish consist of Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, and Charles Paquelet’s Skylands Capital.
Earlier we told you that the aggregate hedge fund interest in the stock was unchanged and we view this as a negative development. Even though there weren’t any hedge funds dumping their holdings during the third quarter, there weren’t any hedge funds initiating brand new positions. This indicates that hedge funds, at the very best, perceive this stock as dead money and they haven’t identified any viable catalysts that can attract investor attention.
Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC). We will take a look at Inuvo, Inc. (NYSEMKT:INUV), TransAct Technologies Incorporated (NASDAQ:TACT), Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI), and Timmins Gold Corp (NYSEMKT:TGD). All of these stocks’ market caps match NTIC’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| INUV | 4 | 4614 | -1 |
| TACT | 5 | 4803 | 2 |
| ACI | 9 | 8019 | -6 |
| TGD | 5 | 2605 | -1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 5.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $5 million. That figure was $7 million in NTIC’s case. Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Inuvo, Inc. (NYSEMKT:INUV) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC) is even less popular than INUV. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.