Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (BRKS): Insiders Are Dumping, Should You? – Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (KLIC), ATMI Inc (ATMI)

Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS) was in 10 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. BRKS investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with BRKS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are many metrics investors can use to track Mr. Market. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. 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 very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of stimuli for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a peek at the recent action regarding Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS).

How have hedgies been trading Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 11% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the most valuable position in Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS). Royce & Associates has a $38 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Polaris Capital Management, managed by Bernard Horn, which held a $20 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Kroch’s GRT Capital Partners and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, initiated the most outsized position in Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS). Citadel Investment Group had 1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors also initiated a $1 million position during the quarter.

What have insiders been doing with Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS). These stocks are ChipMOS Technologies (Bermuda) Ltd (NASDAQ:IMOS), Intermolecular Inc (NASDAQ:IMI), Tessera Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSRA), Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC), and ATMI Inc (NASDAQ:ATMI). This group of stocks are the members of the semiconductor equipment & materials industry and their market caps match BRKS’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Brooks Automation, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BRKS) is no exception.

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