Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) was in 20 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. CRUS investors should pay attention to a decrease in hedge fund sentiment of late. There were 21 hedge funds in our database with CRUS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
According to most traders, hedge funds are viewed as slow, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we at Insider Monkey hone in on the aristocrats of this group, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group oversees the majority of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their top investments, we have deciphered a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have topped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the marketplace. There are lots of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if you understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a look at the key action encompassing Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS).
Hedge fund activity in Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS)
At Q1’s end, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -5% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Daniel Benton’s Andor Capital Management had the largest position in Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS), worth close to $22.8 million, comprising 2.9% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $16.4 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, John Thaler’s JAT Capital Management and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.
Seeing as Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of money managers that slashed their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital said goodbye to the biggest position of the 450+ funds we track, valued at about $6.9 million in stock., and Scott Fine and Peter Richards of Empire Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $5.9 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds at the end of the first quarter.
What have insiders been doing with Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS). These stocks are First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX), SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR), Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB), and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY). This group of stocks belong to the semiconductor – specialized industry and their market caps are similar to CRUS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) | 21 | 0 | 2 |
| Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) | 10 | 0 | 5 |
| Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) | 8 | 5 | 2 |
With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) is an important part of this process.
