Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD) has experienced an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.
At the moment, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see just how much).
Equally as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. There are a variety of motivations for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the key action surrounding Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD).
What does the smart money think about Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 17% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the most valuable position in Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD). Royce & Associates has a $11.5 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Stuart Peterson of Artis Capital Management, with a $1.9 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that are bullish include Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.
As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, initiated the most valuable position in Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD). Driehaus Capital had 0.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners also initiated a $0.1 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new MSPD position is Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
How have insiders been trading Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time frame, Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD). These stocks are Daqo New Energy Corp (NYSE:DQ), Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU), Cascade Microtech, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCD), Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCLR), and Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS). This group of stocks are in the semiconductor equipment & materials industry and their market caps are similar to MSPD’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Daqo New Energy Corp (NYSE:DQ) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Cascade Microtech, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCD) | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCLR) | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS) | 7 | 0 | 3 |
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s research, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSPD) is an important part of this process.
