Is it smart to be bullish on Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB)?
In today’s marketplace, there are many metrics market participants can use to track the equity markets. A pair of the most innovative 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 best investment managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to look at the financial markets. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
What’s more, let’s discuss the recent info for Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB).
How are hedge funds trading Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB)?
In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow’s Blue Mountain Capital had the biggest position in Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB), worth close to $44.9 million, comprising 1.9% of its total 13F portfolio. On Blue Mountain Capital’s heels is Cupps Capital Management, managed by Drew Cupps, which held a $44.3 million position; 3.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
As industrywide interest increased, certain money managers have been driving this bullishness. Blue Mountain Capital, managed by Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow, assembled the biggest position in Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB). Blue Mountain Capital had 44.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Drew Cupps’s Cupps Capital Management also initiated a $44.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
Insider trading activity in Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB)
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB). These stocks are MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC), Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT), Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT), Kaydon Corporation (NYSE:KDN), and RBC Bearings Incorporated (NASDAQ:ROLL). This group of stocks are in the machine tools & accessories industry and their market caps match PRLB’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| MRC Global Inc (NYSE:MRC) | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Blount International, Inc. (NYSE:BLT) | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaydon Corporation (NYSE:KDN) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| RBC Bearings Incorporated (NASDAQ:ROLL) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns explained by our tactics, regular investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Proto Labs Inc (NYSE:PRLB) is an important part of this process.
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