Hedge Funds Are Selling EZCORP Inc (EZPW)

Since EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) has witnessed a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that elected to cut their positions entirely in the third quarter. Interestingly, Mike Vranos’s Ellington dumped the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising about $0.6 million in stock, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.3 million worth of shares. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Flexion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FLXN), Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:HYI), Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIOX), and Sorrentto Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRNE). All of these stocks’ market caps are similar to EZPW’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $47 million. Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIOX) is the most popular stock in this table, whereas Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:HYI) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) is more popular among hedge funds and has attracted a larger amount of their money: $68 million at the end of the third quarter. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.