Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (HIMX): Hedge Funds and Insiders Are Bearish, What Should You Do?

Is Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) a bargain? Hedge funds are getting less optimistic. The number of bullish hedge fund positions decreased by 1 recently.

In the financial world, there are dozens of gauges shareholders can use to monitor publicly traded companies. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can trounce the market by a superb amount (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are many reasons for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a peek at the key action regarding Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX).

How have hedgies been trading Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -14% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, Dalton Investments, managed by Gifford Combs, holds the biggest position in Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX). Dalton Investments has a $24.7 million position in the stock, comprising 7.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Dalton Investments’s heels is Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $6.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Judging by the fact that Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) has faced bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there were a few funds who were dropping their entire stakes at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, Andrew Wallach’s Cumberland Associates dropped the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, valued at an estimated $0.1 million in stock. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds at the end of the year.

Insider trading activity in Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX). These stocks are JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JASO), SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY), Magnachip Semiconductor Corp (NYSE:MX), Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC), and Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR). This group of stocks belong to the semiconductor – specialized industry and their market caps match HIMX’s market cap.