Is Symmetricom, Inc. (SYMM) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Is it smart to be bullish on Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM)?

To the average investor, there are a multitude of gauges market participants can use to watch stocks. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as necessary, bullish insider trading activity is another way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a number of reasons for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if you know where to look (learn more here).

Furthermore, it’s important to examine the latest info about Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM).

Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM)

Hedge fund activity in Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM)

At the end of the second quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -9% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully.

According to our 13F database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the most valuable position in Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM). Royce & Associates has a $6.7 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $6.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Jason F. Harris’s Kendall Square Capital, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Due to the fact Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM) has faced dropping sentiment from upper-tier hedge fund managers, logic holds that there was a specific group of fund managers who sold off their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital dumped the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, totaling about $2.5 million in stock. Matthew Drapkin and Steven R. Becker’s fund, Becker Drapkin Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds last quarter.

How are insiders trading Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM). These stocks are Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT), ShoreTel, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOR), Mitel Networks Corporation (NASDAQ:MITL), Aviat Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AVNW), and KVH Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KVHI). This group of stocks are in the communication equipment industry and their market caps match SYMM’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRNT) 5 0 0
ShoreTel, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOR) 7 0 0
Mitel Networks Corporation (NASDAQ:MITL) 4 0 0
Aviat Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AVNW) 13 0 0
KVH Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KVHI) 5 0 0

Using the results shown by the previously mentioned analyses, average investors must always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM) is an important part of this process.

Discover how hedge fund piggybacking can benefit you