Hedge Funds Are Selling Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) – Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR), Magnachip Semiconductor Corp (NYSE:MX)

Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. LSCC has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with LSCC positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are tons of indicators shareholders can use to track their holdings. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outpace the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are plenty of incentives for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a look at the key action surrounding Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC).

Hedge fund activity in Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC)

Heading into 2013, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -7% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Cadian Capital, managed by Eric Bannasch, holds the biggest position in Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC). Cadian Capital has a $45 million position in the stock, comprising 1.5% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Donald Chiboucis of Columbus Circle Investors, with a $16 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions 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.

Judging by the fact that Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) has experienced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there exists a select few fund managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, Panayotis æTakisÆ Sparaggis’s Alkeon Capital Management said goodbye to the biggest position of all the hedgies we key on, valued at close to $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 total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds at the end of the year.

Insider trading activity in Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC)

Insider buying is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out 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). This group of stocks are the members of the semiconductor – specialized industry and their market caps are similar to LSCC’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) is an important part of this process.