Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) was in 21 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. BRKR investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund interest lately. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with BRKR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the eyes of most investors, hedge funds are seen as slow, outdated financial vehicles of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the upper echelon of this group, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group has its hands on most of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by watching their highest performing equity investments, we have spotted a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat 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 beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).
Just as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a number of stimuli for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors understand where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR).
How have hedgies been trading Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 11% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the most valuable position in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR). Citadel Investment Group has a $33.2 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Robert Pohly of Samlyn Capital, with a $32.6 million position; 1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Andrew Sandler’s Sandler Capital Management.
As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers have jumped into Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) headfirst. Sandler Capital Management, managed by Andrew Sandler, assembled the most valuable position in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR). Sandler Capital Management had 14.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also initiated a $3.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new BRKR positions are Barton Biggs’s Traxis Partners, Christopher Medlock James’s Partner Fund Management, and James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management.
What have insiders been doing with Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR). These stocks are Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI), FEI Company (NASDAQ:FEIC), Compagnie Generale de Gephysqu Vrts SA (NYSE:CGG), Cepheid (NASDAQ:CPHD), and Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO). This group of stocks are the members of the scientific & technical instruments industry and their market caps are closest to BRKR’s market cap.
