Is AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (AUO) A Good Stock To Buy?

Is AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:AUO) a good equity to bet on right now? We like to check what the smart money thinks first before doing extensive research. Although there have been several high profile failed hedge fund picks, the consensus picks among hedge fund investors have historically outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk attributes. It’s not surprising given that hedge funds have access to better information and more resources to find the latest market-moving information.

AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:AUO) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late. AUO was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with AUO positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare AUO to other stocks including NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc (NYSE:NSAM), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), and Lithia Motors Inc (NYSE:LAD) to get a better sense of its popularity.

With all of this in mind, we’re going to go over the recent action encompassing AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:AUO).

How are hedge funds trading AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:AUO)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 6 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -33% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies has the largest position in AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:AUO), worth close to $11.9 million, accounting for less than 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which holds a $1.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish comprise Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.