Hedge Funds Are Selling Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC): GT Advanced Technologies Inc (GTAT), Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (HIMX)

Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. LSCC shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund interest lately. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with LSCC holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are dozens of gauges market participants can use to monitor publicly traded companies. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can beat the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Just as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. There are plenty of stimuli for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if you understand where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a peek at the key action surrounding Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC).

How are hedge funds trading Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -7% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital had the most valuable position in Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC), worth close to $45 million, comprising 1.5% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Donald Chiboucis of Columbus Circle Investors, with a $16 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

Seeing as Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) has experienced declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of hedge funds who were dropping their entire stakes heading into 2013. Interestingly, Panayotis æTakisÆ Sparaggis’s Alkeon Capital Management dumped the biggest stake of the 450+ funds we track, worth an estimated $6 million in stock.. Cliff Asness’s fund, AQR Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds heading into 2013.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 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 Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC). These stocks are GT Advanced Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:GTAT), Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX), Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR), JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JASO), and Magnachip Semiconductor Corp (NYSE:MX). All of these stocks are in the semiconductor – specialized industry and their market caps match LSCC’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) is an important part of this process.

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