Hedge Funds Are Crazy About Primero Mining Corp (PPP)

Is Primero Mining Corp (NYSE:PPP) going to take off soon? Investors who are in the know are getting more optimistic. The number of bullish hedge fund bets rose by 1 recently.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of metrics investors can use to monitor their holdings. A couple of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outclass the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are plenty of incentives for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a gander at the key action surrounding Primero Mining Corp (NYSE:PPP).

What does the smart money think about Primero Mining Corp (NYSE:PPP)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 13% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Eric Sprott’s Sprott Asset Management had the largest position in Primero Mining Corp (NYSE:PPP), worth close to $9.7 million, accounting for 1.3% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Peter Franklin Palmedo of Sun Valley Gold, with a $7.2 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. 3G Capital, managed by Jorge Paulo Lemann, assembled the biggest position in Primero Mining Corp (NYSE:PPP). 3G Capital had 2.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management also initiated a $1.2 million position during the quarter.

Insider trading activity in Primero Mining Corp (NYSE:PPP)

Insider buying is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Primero Mining Corp (NYSE:PPP) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Primero Mining Corp (NYSE:PPP). These stocks are DRDGOLD Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:DRD), Banro Corporation (USA) (NYSEAMEX:BAA), Golden Star Resources Ltd. (USA) (NYSEAMEX:GSS), Timmins Gold Corp (NYSEAMEX:TGD), and Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp. (US) (NYSEAMEX:TRX). This group of stocks belong to the gold industry and their market caps are closest to PPP’s market cap.