SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. SPWR investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with SPWR positions at the end of the previous quarter.
At the moment, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to analyze their holdings. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are lots of stimuli for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a gander at the latest action surrounding SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR).
What does the smart money think about SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR)?
At year’s end, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -31% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
Of the funds we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR). Royce & Associates has a $8.7 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Ardsley Partners, managed by Philip Hempleman, which held a $7.3 million position; 1.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that hold long positions include John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Due to the fact that SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) has faced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few money managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely at the end of the year. It’s worth mentioning that Peter J. Eichler Jr.’s Aletheia Research and Management cut the largest position of all the hedgies we monitor, worth an estimated $5.9 million in stock.. Jim Simons’s fund, Renaissance Technologies, also said goodbye to its stock, about $1.2 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds at the end of the year.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR). These stocks are LSI Corp (NASDAQ:LSI), SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY), Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), and Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB). This group of stocks are the members of the semiconductor – specialized industry and their market caps resemble SPWR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| LSI Corp (NASDAQ:LSI) | 26 | 0 | 2 |
| SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) | 19 | 0 | 7 |
| First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) | 12 | 0 | 10 |
With the results shown by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
See the 7 most bullish money managers on the following pages:
