Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. FSL has experienced a decrease in hedge fund interest recently. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with FSL positions at the end of the previous quarter.
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Consequently, let’s take a peek at the latest action surrounding Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL).
What have hedge funds been doing with Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL)?
At year’s end, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -56% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, Criterion Capital, managed by Christopher Lord, holds the largest position in Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL). Criterion Capital has a $5.6 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, which held a $5.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments and David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments.
Because Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL) has witnessed a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there was a specific group of hedgies that elected to cut their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management dropped the largest position of the 450+ funds we track, comprising about $3.8 million in stock.. Carl Tiedemann and Michael Tiedemann’s fund, TIG Advisors, also sold off its stock, about $2.1 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 9 funds last quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL). These stocks are STMicroelectronics N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:STM), Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MLNX), Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ:ATML), AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:AUO), and ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ONNN). This group of stocks belong to the semiconductor – broad line industry and their market caps match FSL’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| STMicroelectronics N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:STM) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MLNX) | 21 | 0 | 8 |
| Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ:ATML) | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:AUO) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ONNN) | 15 | 0 | 5 |
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
