Amphenol Corporation (APH): Hedge Funds and Insiders Are Bearish, What Should You Do?

Is Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH) a buy, sell, or hold? Investors who are in the know are turning less bullish. The number of long hedge fund bets stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience

In the financial world, there are plenty of metrics investors can use to watch their holdings. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as key, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the marketplace. Obviously, there are many stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action regarding Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH).

What does the smart money think about Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group had the largest position in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH), worth close to $169.6 million, comprising 2.3% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Edward Goodnow of Goodnow Investment Group, with a $36.7 million position; the fund has 7.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management, David Harding’s Winton Capital Management and Richard Chilton’s Chilton Investment Company.

Since Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH) has faced declining sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of funds who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners dumped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, worth close to $1.5 million in stock., and Donald Chiboucis of Columbus Circle Investors was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $1.3 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 15 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH). These stocks are Molex Incorporated (NASDAQ:MOLX), Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL), Kyocera Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:KYO), and LG Display Co Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:LPL). This group of stocks are the members of the diversified electronics industry and their market caps match APH’s market cap.