IXYS Corporation (IXYS): Hedge Funds Are Buying, Should You?

Judging by the fact that IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS) has faced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of funds that elected to cut their full holdings in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management said goodbye to the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds followed by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $2.2 million in stock. Ken Griffin’s fund, Citadel Investment Group, also dumped its stock, about $1 million worth of shares. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS) but similarly valued. These stocks are Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE:LL), Titan International Inc (NYSE:TWI), Hometrust Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:HTBI), and Kimball International Inc (NASDAQ:KBAL). This group of stocks’ market valuations matches IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS)’s market valuation.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 13 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $45 million. That figure was $33 million in IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS)’s case. Titan International Inc (NYSE:TWI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Hometrust Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:HTBI) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, Titan International Inc (NYSE:TWI) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.