Here is What Hedge Funds Think About PLX Technology, Inc. (PLXT): ANADIGICS, Inc. (ANAD), Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (USA) (TSEM)

PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT) has experienced a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.

In the financial world, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to track Mr. Market. A couple of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can beat the broader indices by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are a number of incentives for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a glance at the key action surrounding PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT).

How have hedgies been trading PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, holds the biggest position in PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT). AQR Capital Management has a $11 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Michael Price of MFP Investors, with a $3 million position; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Stuart Peterson’s Artis Capital Management, Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital and Kelly Cardwell’s Central Square Management.

Because PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT) has experienced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there was a specific group of money managers that slashed their entire stakes at the end of the year. Intriguingly, John Arnold’s Centaurus Advisors dumped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, valued at about $8 million in stock.. Robert Emil Zoellner’s fund, Alpine Associates, also said goodbye to its stock, about $4 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How have insiders been trading PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT) has seen 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 PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT). These stocks are ANADIGICS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAD), Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (USA) (NASDAQ:TSEM), Supertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUPX), DSP Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DSPG), and MoSys Inc. (NASDAQ:MOSY). This group of stocks are the members of the semiconductor – integrated circuits industry and their market caps are closest to PLXT’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by our studies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT) is no exception.

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