Progress Software Corporation (PRGS): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It

Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. PRGS has seen a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with PRGS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) At the moment, there are plenty of methods investors can use to track stocks. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can beat the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. There are lots of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the latest action regarding Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS).

Hedge fund activity in Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS)

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -13% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Daruma Asset Management, managed by Mariko Gordon, holds the largest position in Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS). Daruma Asset Management has a $55.1 million position in the stock, comprising 2.8% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Jeffrey Smith of Starboard Value LP, with a $46.2 million position; the fund has 4.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management, Amy Minella’s Cardinal Capital and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Since Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) has witnessed declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that decided to sell off their entire stakes at the end of the first quarter. Intriguingly, Brett Hendrickson’s Nokomis Capital sold off the biggest stake of all the hedgies we watch, comprising about $4.9 million in stock., and Jay Petschek and Steven Major of Corsair Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds at the end of the first quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) has seen zero 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 Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS). These stocks are RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ:RP), Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANH), Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNCR), Advent Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADVS), and NIC Inc. (NASDAQ:EGOV). This group of stocks are the members of the application software industry and their market caps are closest to PRGS’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ:RP) 8 0 15
Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANH) 14 0 10
Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNCR) 15 0 8
Advent Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADVS) 9 0 6
NIC Inc. (NASDAQ:EGOV) 5 0 2

With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s research, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) is no exception.

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