TCP International Holdings Ltd (TCPI): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

It seems that the masses and most of the financial media hate hedge funds and what they do, but why is this hatred of hedge funds so prominent? At the end of the day, these asset management firms do not gamble the hard-earned money of the people who are on the edge of poverty. Truth be told, most hedge fund managers and other smaller players within this industry are very smart and skilled investors. Of course, they may also make wrong bets in some instances, but no one knows what the future holds and how market participants will react to the bountiful news that floods in each day. The S&P 500 Index gained 5.2% in the 12 month-period that ended October 30, while less than 49% of its stocks beat the benchmark. In contrast, the 30 most popular S&P 500 stocks among the hedge fund investors tracked by the Insider Monkey team returned 9.5% over the same period, which provides evidence that these money managers do have great stock picking abilities. Even more to that, 63% of these stocks managed to beat the S&P 500 Index. That’s why we believe it isn’t a waste of time to check out hedge fund sentiment before you invest in a stock like TCP International Holdings Ltd (NYSE:TCPI).

TCP International Holdings Ltd (NYSE:TCPI) has seen an increase in hedge fund interest recently. At the end of this article we will also compare TCPI to other stocks including Cancer Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:CGIX), Petroquest Energy Inc (NYSE:PQ), and Timberland Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSBK) to get a better sense of its popularity.

Follow Tcp International Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:TCPIF)

Keeping this in mind, let’s go over the key action regarding TCP International Holdings Ltd (NYSE:TCPI).

How are hedge funds trading TCP International Holdings Ltd (NYSE:TCPI)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Park West Asset Management, managed by Peter S. Park, holds the biggest position in TCP International Holdings Ltd (NYSE:TCPI). Park West Asset Management has a $2.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Ardsley Partners, led by Philip Hempleman, holding a $1.1 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds and institutional investors that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, created the most outsized position in TCP International Holdings Ltd (NYSE:TCPI).

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to TCP International Holdings Ltd (NYSE:TCPI). We will take a look at Cancer Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:CGIX), Petroquest Energy Inc (NYSE:PQ), Timberland Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSBK), and Good Times Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIM). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to TCPI’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
CGIX 4 1120 -1
PQ 11 9902 -3
TSBK 5 13738 0
GTIM 5 12968 -4

As you can see these stocks had an average of 6.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $9 million. That figure was $5 million in TCPI’s case. Petroquest Energy Inc (NYSE:PQ) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Cancer Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:CGIX) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. TCP International Holdings Ltd (NYSE:TCPI) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard PQ might be a better candidate to consider a long position.