Is it smart to be bullish on RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD)?
In the financial world, there are many metrics shareholders can use to monitor their holdings. Some of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Equally as crucial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to look at the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are many incentives for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).
What’s more, it’s important to examine the newest info about RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD).
How are hedge funds trading RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD)?
At the end of the second quarter, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 31% 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 significantly.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Daniel Arbess’s Xerion had the largest position in RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD), worth close to $21 million, comprising 1.4% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Glenn Russell Dubin of Highbridge Capital Management, with a $12 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
With a general bullishness amongst the titans, certain bigger names have jumped into RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD) headfirst. Xerion, managed by Daniel Arbess, initiated the most valuable position in RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD). Xerion had 21 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also initiated a $12 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
How have insiders been trading RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD). These stocks are Semiconductor Manufacturing Int’l (ADR) (NYSE:SMI), Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS), Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI), PMC-Sierra Inc (NASDAQ:PMCS), and International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE:IRF). All of these stocks are in the semiconductor – integrated circuits industry and their market caps match RFMD’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Semiconductor Manufacturing Int’l (ADR) (NYSE:SMI) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| PMC-Sierra Inc (NASDAQ:PMCS) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE:IRF) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Using the returns explained by our research, average investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD) is an important part of this process.
