Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS)

Is Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) going to take off soon? Prominent investors are taking a bearish view. The number of long hedge fund bets fell by 3 in recent months.

At the moment, there are a multitude of gauges shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. A couple of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outclass the market by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of motivations for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action encompassing Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS).

How have hedgies been trading Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -20% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the biggest position in Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS), worth close to $23 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Cupps Capital Management, managed by Drew Cupps, which held a $19 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that are bullish include Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.

Since Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) has witnessed declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there were a few hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC cut the biggest position of the 450+ funds we track, comprising an estimated $44 million in stock., and Donald Chiboucis of Columbus Circle Investors was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $14 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds in Q4.

What have insiders been doing with Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results exhibited by our tactics, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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