Is Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS) ready to raly soon? Prominent investors are getting less bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund bets stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience
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Now, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS).
How have hedgies been trading Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Peter Kolchinsky’s RA Capital Management had the biggest position in Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS), worth close to $20 million, accounting for 7.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Visium Asset Management, managed by Jacob Gottlieb, which held a $17 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Because Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS) has witnessed falling interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there lies a certain “tier” of money managers that slashed their full holdings in Q4. At the top of the heap, Wayne Holman’s Ridgeback Capital Management dropped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at about $9 million in stock.. Jay Venkatesen’s fund, Ayer Capital Management, also dumped its stock, about $6 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
How have insiders been trading Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS). These stocks are Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS), Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX), Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX), XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA), and Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS). This group of stocks are in the biotechnology industry and their market caps are similar to SNSS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX) | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA) | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) | 6 | 2 | 0 |
With the results shown by our research, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS) is no exception.
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