Micron Technology (MU), Intel Corporation (INTC), Applied Materials (AMAT) Are Killing These Hedge Funds

Semiconductor stocks lost close to 5% on Wednesday. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) lost 5%, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) slumped 5.3%, and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) declined 2.9%. These three stocks were the most popular semiconductor stocks among hedge funds at the end of 2014 (see the list of hedge funds’ 10 most popular stocks). We also took a look at hedge fund positions in the following five stocks:

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is the most popular semiconductor stock among hedge funds. There were 113 hedge funds with long positions in the stock at the end of the fourth quarter. The total value of their positions was more than $8 billion. Billionaires David Einhorn, Andreas Halvorsen, and Seth Klarman had huge positions in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU). 15% of David Einhorn’s 13F portfolio was in semiconductor stocks whereas 14% of Klarman’s 13F portfolio was invested in these stocks. Dalton Investments and Morgan Sze’s Azentus Capital Management also placed huge bets on Micron, yet the stock has lost 24% year-to-date.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is the second most popular semiconductor stock among hedge funds. There were 79 hedge funds with long positions of $3.5 billion in the stock. Coatue Management’s Philippe Laffont was one of the biggest holders of the stock. Laffont also had large positions in Micron Technology and Avago. In total, 15% of his 13F portfolio was invested in these three stocks.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is the third most popular semiconductor stock among hedge funds. The tech giant isn’t actually very popular for a $150 billion stock. There were only 62 hedge funds with long positions of $5.4 billion in the stock. This is less than 4% of its market cap. First Eagle, Fisher Asset Management, and Pzena Investment Management had the largest positions. As you may have noticed, these aren’t hedge funds but institutional investors that historically showed some success in investing in value stocks. Russell Hawkins’ Hawkins Capital allocated 16.5% of its 13F portfolio to Intel. Time will tell whether Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is a value investment or a value trap.