ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) was in 5 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. EXLS has experienced an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately. There were 4 hedge funds in our database with EXLS positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of indicators shareholders can use to monitor stocks. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can outclass the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of stimuli for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Now, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action surrounding ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS).
How have hedgies been trading ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 25% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Eminence Capital, managed by Ricky Sandler, holds the most valuable position in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS). Eminence Capital has a $13.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $8.2 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Now, specific money managers have jumped into ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) headfirst. Hutchin Hill Capital, managed by Neil Chriss, assembled the most outsized position in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS). Hutchin Hill Capital had 0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management also made a $0.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter.
How have insiders been trading ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS). These stocks are Quad/Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:QUAD), TeleTech Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTEC), NetSpend Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NTSP), Moneygram International Inc (NYSE:MGI), and Infoblox Inc (NYSE:BLOX). This group of stocks are the members of the business services industry and their market caps are closest to EXLS’s market cap.
