Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love SurModics, Inc. (SRDX)?

SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. SRDX investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with SRDX positions at the end of the previous quarter.

SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX)

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of indicators market participants can use to monitor stocks. A couple of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can beat the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of incentives for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a glance at the latest action encompassing SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX).

What does the smart money think about SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -20% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the most valuable position in SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX). Royce & Associates has a $21.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Trigran Investments, managed by Douglas T. Granat, which held a $8.4 million position; 4.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Because SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX) has witnessed falling interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there was a specific group of hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. Intriguingly, Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk’s GRT Capital Partners dropped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising an estimated $0.3 million in stock., and Mike Vranos of Ellington was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.3 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds at the end of the first quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX)?

Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns exhibited by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX) is no exception.

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