One of the primary goals of Stockpickr.com is to allow everyday investors to see what the big guns are buying. Often we see a big-name investor loading up on a particular stock. This is usually a good sign because you know that person put a lot of time and due diligence into that process. Plus, high-profile investors have bankers, lawyers and consultants breaking down the business every which way imaginable.

The real icing on the cake, however, is when that same company announces that an insider has purchased a large chunk of stock or even better, the board initiates a new, large share-buyback program.

That's why each Thursday at Stockpickr we update the Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks portfolio, featuring the stocks that in the last week had either big insider purchases or newly announced buybacks, as well as super-investors accumulating shares.

For instance, Nvidia (NVDA) is in this week's portfolio. The Santa Carla, Calif.-based chip maker announced that it will increase its buyback program by $1 billion. This ups the total authorization amount to $2.7 billion. The repurchase will be made from time to time depending on market conditions, and the company offered no expiration
date.

Nvidia has repurchased 68 million shares, worth $1.16 billion, since the inception of its buyback program through July 27, 2008.

On August 12, the second-largest maker of computer-graphic chips reported disappointing second-quarter earnings. During the quarter, revenue dropped 5% to $892.7 million vs. $935.3 million in the same period last year.

The company experienced a loss of $120.9 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a profit of $127.7 million, or 29 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The loss can be attributed to $196 million the company spent on customer warranty issues and high packaging materials cost.

"We have a great product line-up and, having taken the necessary pricing actions, we are strongly positioned again. Our focus now is to drive cost improvements and to further enhance our competitiveness through the many exciting initiatives we have planned for the rest of the year," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia.

Analyst Patrick Wang at Wedbush Morgan Securities has a buy rating on the stock. He commented: "Despite near-term headwinds, we believe shares remain attractive longer-term, trading at 17x and 14x our FY09 and FY10 EPS estimates, respectively." He maintained his $15 price target.

We also like to see that Renaissance Technologies holds Nvidia in its portfolio. This New York-based hedge fund is run by Jim Simons and has averaged 38% annual returns since it was started in 1982. In its $5 billion Medallion Fund, it also owns Bank of America (BAC) and Wal-Mart (WMT).

Another stellar investment firm that has its money in NVDA is Moore Capital. Famed trader Louis Bacon runs the $10 billion group of hedge funds, and he has averaged 24% per year since 1990 in the group's signature Moore Global Investment fund. His other top picks are Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Google (GOOG).

So we have an enlarged buyback, a buy rating, and two top-notch investment firms into the stock. It might be time to take a closer look at Nvidia.

Next up we have NetApp (NTAP) making this week's list. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based maker of data storage systems announced that its board approved the buyback of up to $1 billion in common stock. This comes in addition to the $96.3 million remaining from its previous repurchase plans. As of July 25, the company had about 327 million outstanding shares.

On August 13, NetApp reported strong first-quarter results, with revenues surging 26% to $869 million. The company earned $37.7 million, or 11 cents a share, up from $34.3 million, or 9 cents a share, earned in the year-earlier period.

Despite sluggish macroeconomic conditions, the company expects increasing business in storage infrastructures in the upcoming quarters. In the second quarter, NetApp anticipates revenue in the range of $910 million to $940 million, and it expects to earn 16 cents to 19 cents a share.

"Our new fiscal year got off to a good start, and our efforts to increase awareness and sales capacity in order to secure new customers are delivering results," said Dan Warmenhoven, chairman and CEO. "Despite economic uncertainty, customers have continued to expand and evolve their storage infrastructure and are looking to NetApp to help them reduce costs and enable new capabilities."

Needham analyst Glenn Hanus has a buy rating and $30 target price for NetApp and notes the healthy quarter and new buyback. He said: "NTAP is executing well and remains an exceptionally strong and well managed company. We generally view any substantial pullbacks as buying opportunities."

It's also good to see that the Citadel Investment Group is betting on NetApp. This $20 billion Chicago-based hedge fund was founded by billionaire trader Kenneth C. Griffin and boasts a 25% return since its inception through 2006. The firm is known for its daily trading volume, which amounts to 1% to 2% of daily trading activity in New York and Tokyo. Their other top picks are AT&T (T) and General Dynamics (GD).

Fifth Third Asset Management also has its money in NetApp. This $5 billion fund has a Morningstar rating of five stars and is run by James Kirk. He invests 80% of its total assets in equity securities of large capitalization companies. It also likes Kraft (KFT) and ConocoPhillips (COP).

So we have a buyback, solid earnings, a buy rating and two superior investment firms into the stock. It might be time to do some more homework on NetApp.

And finally, we have Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) in this week's portfolio. The San Jose-based company increased its buyback plan by $500 million, bringing the repurchase amount up to $912 million. Cadence develops electronic design automation software and hardware.

Seeing as the company just repurchased $660 million in debt, its cash position can easily handle a $500 million buyback. If it repurchases the shares over a short time period, this buyback could reduce the share count by 20% to 24%, which would greatly improve EPS once earnings get back to normal.

The company reported weak second-quarter earnings on July 23, with revenues of $329 million, compared with revenue of $391 million in the same period last year. Net income sank to $5 million, or 2 cents a share, from $60 million, or 20 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

"Although we achieved our Q2 numbers, it was more difficult than we planned. Customers are demanding still more flexibility in when, what and how they purchase software and hardware," said Mike Fister, CEO.

However, it was good to see that Citi (C) upgraded Cadence to buy from neutral and added the stock to its Top Picks list. The Citi analyst commented: "We view CDNS as a strong candidate to generate 50% 1-yr and 100% 2-yr returns." The analysts noted a few catalysts: the company's new CFO, Kevin Palatnik; cost restructuring; many upcoming tech conferences; and the $912 million buyback authorization. The analyst upped the price target from $9 to $11.50.

It's also good to see the D.E. Shaw Group buying shares of Cadence. This $50 billion firm has earned an international reputation for financial innovation and an extraordinarily distinguished staff. Other stocks it owns include Alliance Data Systems (ADS) and Devon Energy (DVN).

We also took notice when Okumus Capital added Cadence to its portfolio. Ahmet Okumus founded Okumus Capital in 1997 and has returned nearly 35% per year since inception. He is the largest investor in the funds, and his investment represents approximately 20% of the firm assets, which is in excess of $800 million. It also recently picked up shares of CA (CA) and Quest Software (QSFT).

So we have a buyback, an upgrade, and two noteworthy investors buying shares Cadence. That's a solid foundation for this stock to take off from.

For more stocks and analysis, check out this week's Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks portfolio at Stockpickr.com.

For the 10 most-recent portfolios, check out:

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LV

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LVI

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LVII

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LVIII

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LIX

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LX

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LXI

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LXII

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LXIII

Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks LXIV

You can also review Barron's Top Insider Purchases from the prior week and Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" Buybacks.

Posted on Aug. 27, 2008