Looking for small cap companies with room for growth, and the support to get there? When looking for these kinds of opportunities a good place to start is with the sentiment of those who know the companies best. We created a list with this in mind..
To get your search started, we looked to company insiders (upper management) and top analysts.
Insider Sentiment: The people who know a company best are, naturally, those who work there. Managers and board members are very likely to by stock in their firm (with their personal funds) if they believe the market price is undervalued. This may be especially true if they are optimistic about new developments and feel the market hasn’t appropriately priced it in yet.
When they do buy shares they are required to report it, and outside investors are able to get an overview of their trading activities. For our purposes, we screened for net insider buying (in significant amounts) over the past six months – A sign insiders are especially bullish on their firm’s prospects.
Top Analysts: Next, consider the sentiment of top analyst firms. Most investment banks have large teams of analysts that are each assigned to a specific sector or company, so they theoretically know everything there is to know about it. And although they’re certainly not always correct analysts put a lot of time and consideration into their ratings. So we can assume they have good reason for rating a company “buy” or “overweight” – the highest bull rating available (versus “equal weight” or “underweight”).
We screened small cap stocks for those with “buy” “strong buy” and “overweight” ratings from the following reputable firms: Argus, Barclays, Canaccord Genuity, Collins Stewart, Deutsche, Needham, Oppenheimer, Robert W Baird, UBS, and Wedbush.
Business Section: Investing Ideas
After applying the “buy” rating and insider buying screens we were left with 10 small cap stocks. We list them in detail below.
Interactive Chart: Use the Compar-O-Matic to compare market caps for the stocks mentioned below:
Do you think these insider favorites are deserving of their prestigious ratings? List sorted alphabetically.
1. Black Diamond, Inc. (BDE, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Develops, manufactures, and distributes outdoor recreation equipment and active lifestyle products. Market cap at $308.91M, most recent closing price at $9.86. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 1,284,800 shares, which represents about 7.82% of the company’s 16.42M share float. On 01/18/2012, Oppenheimer had a Outperform rating on the stock.
2. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in the operation and development of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant and retail concept in the United States. Market cap at $1.5B, most recent closing price at $64.74. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 1,279,457 shares, which represents about 7.11% of the company’s 18.00M share float. On 05/25/2012, Argus had a Buy rating on the stock.
3. Colfax Corporation (CFX, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and distributes fluid handling products that transfer or control liquids in various applications worldwide. Market cap at $1.52B, most recent closing price at $34.02. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 2,147,640 shares, which represents about 3.26% of the company’s 65.94M share float. On 11/15/2011, UBS had a Buy rating on the stock.
4. Gentiva Health Services Inc. (GTIV, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Provides home health services and hospice care in the United States. Market cap at $379.07M, most recent closing price at $12.35. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 336,622 shares, which represents about 1.29% of the company’s 26.02M share float. On 07/26/2012, Deutsche Bank had a Buy rating on the stock.
5. Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc (HCCI, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Provides industrial and hazardous waste services to small and mid-sized customers in the United States. Market cap at $350.72M, most recent closing price at $19.36. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 152,423 shares, which represents about 1.7% of the company’s 8.94M share float. On 02/24/2012, Needham had a Buy rating on the stock.
6. Universal Display Corp. (PANL, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in flat panel display, solid-state lighting, and other product applications. Market cap at $1.93B, most recent closing price at $41.78. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 867,597 shares, which represents about 2.44% of the company’s 35.55M share float. On 06/22/2012, Deutsche Bank had a Buy rating on the stock.
7. PROLOR Biotech, Inc. (PBTH, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in the development of proprietary versions of already-approved therapeutic proteins. Market cap at $307.54M, most recent closing price at $4.81. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 1,000,000 shares, which represents about 2.79% of the company’s 35.86M share float. On 08/29/2012, Oppenheimer had a Outperform rating on the stock.
8. Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PCRX, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in the development, commercialization, and manufacture of pharmaceutical products for hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. Market cap at $585.51M, most recent closing price at $18.23. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 511,422 shares, which represents about 2.47% of the company’s 20.71M share float. On 12/09/2011, Barclays Capital had a Overweight rating.
9. Stewart Enterprises Inc. (STEI, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Provides funeral and cemetery products and services in the death care industry in the United States and Puerto Rico. Market cap at $703.53M, most recent closing price at $8.22. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 871,700 shares, which represents about 1.39% of the company’s 62.57M share float. On 07/03/2012, UBS had a Buy rating on the stock.
10. ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (ZIOP, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Focuses on the development and commercialization of in-licensed cancer drugs in North America. Market cap at $445.59M, most recent closing price at $5.62. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 1,923,080 shares, which represents about 3.54% of the company’s 54.27M share float. On 11/22/2011, Collins Stewart had a Buy rating on the stock. On 03/26/2012, Canaccord Genuity had a Buy rating on the stock.
Insider data sourced from Yahoo! Finance. Ratings sourced from Reuters. All other data sourced from Finviz.
Use Kapitall’s Tools: Looking for ways to analyze this list?
Use this article snapshot as a launch pad (click here for help): Simply click on the links, and use Kapitall’s tab navigation to browse through the data…
Analyze These Ideas: Getting Started
- Read descriptions for all companies mentioned
- Access a performance overview for all stocks in the list
- Compare analyst ratings for the companies mentioned
- Compare analyst ratings to annual returns for stocks mentioned
- Real-Time Opinion: Scan the latest tweets about these companies (feed will open in a new window)
Dig Deeper: Access Company Snapshots, Charts, Filings
- Black Diamond, Inc. (BDE, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Colfax Corporation (CFX, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Gentiva Health Services Inc. (GTIV, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc (HCCI, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Universal Display Corp. (PANL, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- PROLOR Biotech, Inc. (PBTH, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PCRX, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Stewart Enterprises Inc. (STEI, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (ZIOP, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
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