Hedge Funds Are Selling TETRA Technologies, Inc. (TTI)

TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. TTI investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with TTI positions at the end of the previous quarter.

According to most investors, hedge funds are seen as worthless, old financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at present, we look at the leaders of this group, about 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group has its hands on the lion’s share of the smart money’s total capital, and by tracking their highest performing picks, we have spotted a few investment strategies that have historically outpaced the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outpaced the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).

Just as important, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. There are a number of motivations for an 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 method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a gander at the key action regarding TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI).

How have hedgies been trading TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -7% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Jim Roumell’s Roumell Asset Management had the largest position in TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI), worth close to $15.9 million, accounting for 9.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $6.6 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Due to the fact that TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of hedgies that slashed their full holdings in Q1. It’s worth mentioning that Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP said goodbye to the biggest position of the 450+ funds we monitor, comprising an estimated $7.2 million in stock., and Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.5 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds in Q1.

How are insiders trading TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) has seen 3 unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI). These stocks are C&J Energy Services Inc (NYSE:CJES), Tesco Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:TESO), Basic Energy Services, Inc (NYSE:BAS), GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF), and Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE:NR). This group of stocks are the members of the oil & gas equipment & services industry and their market caps are similar to TTI’s market cap.