Before we spend countless hours researching a company, we like to analyze what insiders, hedge funds and billionaire investors think of the stock first. This is a necessary first step in our investment process because our research has shown that the elite investors’ consensus returns have been exceptional. In the following paragraphs, we find out what the billionaire investors and hedge funds think of IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG).
IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) has experienced an increase in hedge fund interest in recent months. IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) was in 22 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2021. The all time high for this statistic was previously 20. This means the bullish number of hedge fund positions in this stock currently sits at its all time high. There were 20 hedge funds in our database with IAG holdings at the end of December. Our calculations also showed that IAG isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q1 rankings).
Today there are many formulas shareholders have at their disposal to appraise stocks. Some of the most under-the-radar formulas are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see the details here). Also, our monthly newsletter’s portfolio of long stock picks returned 206.8% since March 2017 (through May 2021) and beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 115 percentage points. You can download a sample issue of this newsletter on our website .
David Iben of Kopernik Global Investors
At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, Chuck Schumer recently stated that marijuana legalization will be a Senate priority. So, we are checking out this under the radar stock that will benefit from this. We go through lists like the 10 best battery stocks to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our homepage. With all of this in mind let’s go over the recent hedge fund action surrounding IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG).
Do Hedge Funds Think IAG Is A Good Stock To Buy Now?
Heading into the second quarter of 2021, a total of 22 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 10% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 17 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in IAG a year ago. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were adding to their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Renaissance Technologies has the number one position in IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG), worth close to $65.4 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Polunin Capital, managed by Douglas Harold Hart Polunin, which holds a $30.6 million position; 15.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining professional money managers with similar optimism include David Iben’s Kopernik Global Investors, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Polunin Capital allocated the biggest weight to IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG), around 15.85% of its 13F portfolio. Kopernik Global Investors is also relatively very bullish on the stock, designating 1.13 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to IAG.
As aggregate interest increased, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Brigade Capital, managed by Don Morgan, established the biggest position in IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG). Brigade Capital had $2.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Franklin Palmedo’s Sun Valley Gold also initiated a $1.5 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Michael Gelband’s ExodusPoint Capital, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Ryan Tolkin (CIO)’s Schonfeld Strategic Advisors.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG). These stocks are Upland Software Inc (NASDAQ:UPLD), Conduent Incorporated (NYSE:CNDT), Frontline Ltd (NYSE:FRO), TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK), Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX), Mack Cali Realty Corp (NYSE:CLI), and Marten Transport, Ltd (NASDAQ:MRTN). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to IAG’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPLD | 19 | 224571 | -2 |
| CNDT | 22 | 361131 | 5 |
| FRO | 10 | 10550 | 4 |
| TCBK | 6 | 30823 | -2 |
| PLRX | 9 | 261380 | 1 |
| CLI | 8 | 47258 | -2 |
| MRTN | 18 | 64404 | 2 |
| Average | 13.1 | 142874 | 0.9 |
View table here if you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.1 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $143 million. That figure was $135 million in IAG’s case. Conduent Incorporated (NYSE:CNDT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our overall hedge fund sentiment score for IAG is 87. Stocks with higher number of hedge fund positions relative to other stocks as well as relative to their historical range receive a higher sentiment score. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed that top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 95.8% in 2019 and 2020, and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 40 percentage points. These stocks gained 23.8% in 2021 through July 16th and beat the market again by 7.7 percentage points. Unfortunately IAG wasn’t nearly as popular as these 5 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on IAG were disappointed as the stock returned -6.4% since the end of March (through 7/16) and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out the top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds as many of these stocks already outperformed the market since 2019.
Follow Iamgold Corp (NYSE:IAG)
Follow Iamgold Corp (NYSE:IAG)
Suggested Articles:
- 12 Biggest Chinese Software Companies
- 16 Best Space Stocks To Buy Now
- 12 Best Fitness Stocks To Buy Now
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
