Quantum Corp (QTM): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It But Hedge Funds Love It

Is it smart to be bullish on Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM)?

In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of gauges investors 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 top fund managers can outpace the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as crucial, positive insider trading activity is another way to analyze the marketplace. There are plenty of reasons for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if investors know what to do (learn more here).

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s examine the recent info about Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM).

Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM)

Hedge fund activity in Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM)

At Q2’s end, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 9% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

According to our 13F database, Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP had the biggest position in Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM), worth close to $35.2 million, accounting for 2.5% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Gregg J. Powers of Private Capital Management, with a $30.2 million position; the fund has 2.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include Brett Hendrickson’s Nokomis Capital, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

With a general bullishness amongst the titans, certain bigger names have been driving this bullishness. Soros Fund Management, managed by George Soros, initiated the most valuable position in Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM). Soros Fund Management had 127.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP also initiated a $35.2 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new QTM investors: Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management, Brett Hendrickson’s Nokomis Capital, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

How have insiders been trading Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll go over the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM). These stocks are Imation Corp. (NYSE:IMN), Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX), STEC, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEC), Datalink Corporation (NASDAQ:DTLK), and Xyratex Ltd. (NASDAQ:XRTX). This group of stocks are the members of the data storage devices industry and their market caps are similar to QTM’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Imation Corp. (NYSE:IMN) 11 0 0
Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX) 22 0 0
STEC, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEC) 16 0 0
Datalink Corporation (NASDAQ:DTLK) 7 0 0
Xyratex Ltd. (NASDAQ:XRTX) 10 0 0

Using the returns explained by our strategies, regular investors must always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM) is an important part of this process.

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Hedge Fund Activity