Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) was in 20 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. KLIC investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with KLIC positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the eyes of most investors, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open today, we look at the top tier of this club, around 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group has its hands on most of the smart money’s total capital, and by keeping an eye on their highest performing equity investments, we have uncovered a few investment strategies that have historically beaten the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (see all of our picks from August).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action surrounding Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC).
Hedge fund activity in Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)
At year’s end, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 11% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the biggest position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC), worth close to $28 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is Coghill Capital Management, managed by Clint Coghill, which held a $21 million call position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that are bullish include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have jumped into Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) headfirst. Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, established the most valuable position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC). Carlson Capital had 10 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management also made a $8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new KLIC positions are Brett Hendrickson’s Nokomis Capital and Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management.
How have insiders been trading Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s tactics, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
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