Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (AU)?

Who loves AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU)?

At the moment, there are plenty of indicators market participants can use to watch their holdings. Two of the most under-the-radar 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 best money managers can outpace the market by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as necessary, positive insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of reasons for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if investors know where to look (learn more here).

Furthermore, it’s important to discuss the newest info surrounding AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU).

Hedge fund activity in AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU)

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -14% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

According to our 13F database, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co had the biggest position in AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU), worth close to $399.5 million, comprising 2.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Matt McLennan of First Eagle Investment Management, with a $385.1 million position; 1.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include John Paulson’s Paulson & Co, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Kerr Neilson’s Platinum Asset Management.

Since AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU) has faced a fall in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedgies that decided to sell off their positions entirely in Q1. Intriguingly, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co sold off the largest stake of the 450+ funds we monitor, worth close to $86.4 million in stock, and Jeffrey Vinik of Vinik Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $27.7 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds in Q1.

How have insiders been trading AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU)?

Insider buying made by high-level executives is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU). These stocks are Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY), Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (USA) (NYSE:AEM), Compania de Minas Buenaventura SA (ADR) (NYSE:BVN), Randgold Resources Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:GOLD), and Kinross Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:KGC). This group of stocks are the members of the gold industry and their market caps are closest to AU’s market cap.