Is Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (APT) A Good Stock To Buy?

Hedge funds are not perfect. They have their bad picks just like everyone else. Micron, a stock hedge funds have loved, lost 50% during the last 12 months ending in October 30. Although hedge funds are not perfect, their consensus picks do deliver solid returns, however. Our data show the top 30 S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds at the end of September 2014 yielded an average return of 9.5% in the same time period, vs. a gain of 5.2% for the S&P 500 Index. Because hedge funds have a lot of resources and their consensus picks do well, we pay attention to what they think. In this article, we analyze what the elite funds think of Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEMKT:APT).

Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEMKT:APT) investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. At the end of this article, we will compare Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEMKT:APT) to other stocks, including Qumu Corp (NASDAQ:QUMU), General Employment Enterprises, Inc. (NYSEMKT:JOB), and Roka Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ:ROKA) to get a better sense of its popularity.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of tools market participants employ to analyze publicly traded companies. Two of the most innovative tools are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see the details here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s review the fresh action surrounding Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEMKT:APT).

How are hedge funds trading Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEMKT:APT)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 4 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, an increase of 33% from the second quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Renaissance Technologies has the number one position in Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEMKT:APT), worth close to $2.9 million, corresponding to less than 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, which holds a $33,000 position; the fund has less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Another hedge fund with a similar optimism encompass Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.