Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Newmont Mining Corp (NEM) Anymore

Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund interest in recent months.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of indicators market participants can use to analyze Mr. Market. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are many reasons for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a peek at the latest action encompassing Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM).

Hedge fund activity in Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM)

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 37 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -16% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management had the biggest position in Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM), worth close to $252.3 million, accounting for 0.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, with a $89 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Gilchrist Berg’s Water Street Capital and Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management.

Since Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) has experienced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Robert Pitts’s Steadfast Capital Management dropped the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, totaling about $59.8 million in call options, and Robert Pitts of Steadfast Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $29.7 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 7 funds last quarter.

How have insiders been trading Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time frame, Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM). These stocks are AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU), Kinross Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:KGC), Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY), Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), and Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG). This group of stocks belong to the gold industry and their market caps resemble NEM’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) is an important part of this process.

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