The Spectranetics Corporation (SPNC): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It

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The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. SPNC has seen a decrease in hedge fund interest lately. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with SPNC positions at the end of the previous quarter.

The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC)

To most traders, hedge funds are seen as worthless, outdated investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we look at the moguls of this club, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by monitoring their best stock picks, we have unearthed a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outpaced the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).

Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are many reasons for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action surrounding The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC).

Hedge fund activity in The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC)

At Q1’s end, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -8% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, holds the largest position in The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC). Driehaus Capital has a $13.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. On Driehaus Capital’s heels is SAC Subsidiary of CR Intrinsic Investors, with a $9.8 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include Mark Broach’s Manatuck Hill Partners, Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital and Drew Cupps’s Cupps Capital Management.

Because The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC) has witnessed falling interest from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there were a few hedge funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management sold off the largest investment of the 450+ funds we track, worth close to $0.5 million in stock., and John Fichthorn of Dialectic Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds last quarter.

Insider trading activity in The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC). These stocks are MAKO Surgical Corp. (NASDAQ:MAKO), ABIOMED, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABMD), Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB), Orthofix International NV (NASDAQ:OFIX), and NxStage Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTM). This group of stocks belong to the medical appliances & equipment industry and their market caps match SPNC’s market cap.

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