Here’s Why Investors Are Buzzing About NXP Semiconductors, Ophthotech, Trina Solar, and Two Other Stocks

Although much of the market’s attention is on Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) after various reports said that several ideal matches won’t bid for the social media company, traders are also paying attention to four tech stocks and one biotech today.

In this article, we will find out why investors are keenly watching the price action associated with NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI), QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), Ophthotech Corp (NASDAQ:OPHT), JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JASO), and Trina Solar Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TSL) and we’ll use data from the last round of 13F filings to get an idea what smart money investors think about the companies in question.

At Insider Monkey, we track around 740 hedge funds and institutional investors. Through extensive backtests, we have determined that imitating some of the stocks that these investors are collectively bullish on, can help retail investors generate double digits of alpha per year. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these funds, which are usually less followed by the broader market and allow for larger price inefficiencies (see the details here).

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Although sources say that no deal is imminent, the potential marriage between NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) and QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) is moving forward. According to CNBC Now, the two semi-conductor companies are holding talks concerning a merger, and the former has asked for $120 per share as the take-out price. Although that is around a 20% premium from NXP’s current price, some analysts think that QUALCOMM could go through with the deal and still unlock substantial value for its own shareholders. David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management initiated a new stake of 1.4 million shares in NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) during the second quarter. Meanwhile, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management inched up its holdings in QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) by 2% during the same time frame to 9.68 million shares held at the end of June.

Ophthotech Corp (NASDAQ:OPHT) shares are 2% in the red after Terence Flynn, analyst at Goldman Sachs, cut his price target on the stock to $23 per share from $45 and reiterated his ‘Sell’ rating, saying that he is more cautious on the success of Ophthotech’s lead product candidate, Fovista, (which is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials) after the release of disappointing Phase 2 data by peer Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN). On September 30, Regeneron announced that a Phase 2 study of Aflibercept co-formulated with Rinucumab showed no benefit over Aflibercept alone for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. A total of 27 funds from our database had a bullish position in Ophthotech Corp (NASDAQ:OPHT) at the end of June, up by three funds from the previous quarter.

On the next page, we find out why investors are buzzing about JA Solar Holdings, and Trina Solar Limited.