Is Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA) ready to raly soon? Investors who are in the know are buying. The number of long hedge fund positions rose by 1 lately.
In today’s marketplace, there are many methods market participants can use to track publicly traded companies. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can beat the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of incentives for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action surrounding Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA).
Hedge fund activity in Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Columbus Circle Investors, managed by Donald Chiboucis, holds the largest position in Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA). Columbus Circle Investors has a $13 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Columbus Circle Investors’s heels is Samuel Isaly of OrbiMed Advisors, with a $9 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Drew Cupps’s Cupps Capital Management, Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, created the most outsized position in Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA). OrbiMed Advisors had 9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group also initiated a $5 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
What have insiders been doing with Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 13 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA). These stocks are Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL), Tellabs, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLAB), Sonus Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONS), Harmonic Inc (NASDAQ:HLIT), and 8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT). All of these stocks are in the communication equipment industry and their market caps match VCRA’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Comtech Telecomm. Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| Tellabs, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLAB) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Sonus Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONS) | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Harmonic Inc (NASDAQ:HLIT) | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 8×8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) | 7 | 0 | 2 |
With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Vocera Communications Inc (NYSE:VCRA) is no exception.
