This Metric Says You Are Smart to Buy Amkor Technology, Inc. (AMKR): Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC), OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (OVTI)

Is Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) an attractive stock to buy now? Investors who are in the know are in a bullish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund bets increased by 2 in recent months.

Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR)At the moment, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to track publicly traded companies. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR).

How have hedgies been trading Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR)?

At year’s end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 22% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Cadian Capital, managed by Eric Bannasch, holds the largest position in Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR). Cadian Capital has a $45 million position in the stock, comprising 1.5% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Joshua Friedman and Mitchell Julis of Canyon Capital Advisors, with a $8 million position; the fund has 1.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names have jumped into Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) headfirst. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, initiated the biggest position in Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR). Renaissance Technologies had 1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new AMKR investors: Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

How are insiders trading Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR). These stocks are Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ:AMCC), OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OVTI), EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:EZCH), Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX), and Micrel, Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCRL). This group of stocks are the members of the semiconductor – integrated circuits industry and their market caps are closest to AMKR’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ:AMCC) 7 4 1
OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OVTI) 17 0 2
EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:EZCH) 7 0 0
Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX) 7 2 0
Micrel, Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCRL) 6 2 1

With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned strategies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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