Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) Anymore

Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) has seen a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently.

In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of indicators market participants can use to analyze the equity markets. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can outpace the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the world of equities. There are a number of motivations for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a glance at the latest action regarding Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX).

Hedge fund activity in Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX)

At year’s end, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -6% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

Of the funds we track, Glenview Capital, managed by Larry Robbins, holds the most valuable position in Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX). Glenview Capital has a $306 million position in the stock, comprising 4.3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is GMT Capital, managed by Thomas E. Claugus, which held a $130 million position; the fund has 3.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Ron Gutfleish’s Elm Ridge Capital, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Seeing as Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) has faced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there exists a select few hedge funds who sold off their entire stakes at the end of the year. Intriguingly, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management dropped the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we track, comprising an estimated $25 million in stock.. Ray Dalio’s fund, Bridgewater Associates, also dropped its stock, about $1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds at the end of the year.

Insider trading activity in Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX)

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time period, Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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