Hedge Funds Are Betting On Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (FCS) – RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD), Microsemi Corporation (MSCC)

Is Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS) a marvelous investment now? Prominent investors are buying. The number of long hedge fund bets advanced by 2 in recent months.

To the average investor, there are many methods investors can use to track stocks. 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 trounce the market by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a number of stimuli for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a peek at the key action regarding Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS).

What does the smart money think about Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS), worth close to $198.4 million, accounting for 0.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $84 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and George Soros’s Soros Fund Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Soros Fund Management, managed by George Soros, created the biggest position in Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS). Soros Fund Management had 7.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Charles Clough’s Clough Capital Partners also made a $4.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new FCS positions are Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.

How have insiders been trading Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS)?

Insider buying is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS). These stocks are International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE:IRF), RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD), Microsemi Corporation (NASDAQ:MSCC), Hittite Microwave Corp (NASDAQ:HITT), and Semiconductor Manufacturing Int’l (ADR) (NYSE:SMI). All of these stocks are in the semiconductor – integrated circuits industry and their market caps resemble FCS’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE:IRF) 6 2 2
RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD) 15 0 4
Microsemi Corporation (NASDAQ:MSCC) 4 0 13
Hittite Microwave Corp (NASDAQ:HITT) 3 0 0
Semiconductor Manufacturing Int’l (ADR) (NYSE:SMI) 3 0 0

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NYSE:FCS) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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