Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Geospace Technologies Corp (GEOS)?

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Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. GEOS shareholders have witnessed an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with GEOS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS)According to most investors, hedge funds are perceived as worthless, old investment tools of yesteryear. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at present, we hone in on the masters of this group, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group has its hands on the lion’s share of the smart money’s total asset base, and by paying attention to their best investments, we have formulated a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (explore the details and some picks here).

Equally as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are plenty of stimuli for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a gander at the key action encompassing Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS).

What does the smart money think about Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 140% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, holds the most valuable position in Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS). Millennium Management has a $25 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Cupps Capital Management, managed by Drew Cupps, which held a $14.1 million position; the fund has 1.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Andrew Sandler’s Sandler Capital Management, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names have jumped into Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS) headfirst. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, assembled the largest position in Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS). Millennium Management had 25 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Drew Cupps’s Cupps Capital Management also initiated a $14.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Andrew Sandler’s Sandler Capital Management, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

What have insiders been doing with Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS). These stocks are ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE), Cubic Corporation (NYSE:CUB), Curtiss-Wright Corp. (NYSE:CW), Ixia (NASDAQ:XXIA), and Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHR). This group of stocks are in the scientific & technical instruments industry and their market caps are similar to GEOS’s market cap.

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