Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Midway Gold Corp (USA) (MDW)

Midway Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:MDW) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. MDW has seen a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with MDW holdings at the end of the previous quarter; in our experience, this represents a bearish indicator.

At the moment, there are dozens of gauges market participants can use to track the equity markets. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can beat the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a gander at the recent action surrounding Midway Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:MDW).

What does the smart money think about Midway Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:MDW)?

At year’s end, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.

Judging by the fact that Midway Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:MDW) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there were a few money managers that slashed their entire stakes last quarter. Interestingly, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw sold off the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, comprising an estimated $0 million in stock. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How are insiders trading Midway Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:MDW)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Midway Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:MDW) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, 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 Midway Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:MDW). These stocks are Richmont Mines Inc. (USA) (NYSEAMEX:RIC), Comstock Mining, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:LODE), Brigus Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:BRD), Vista Gold Corp. (NYSEAMEX:VGZ), and International Tower Hill Mines Ltd(USA] (NYSEAMEX:THM). All of these stocks are in the gold industry and their market caps match MDW’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned research, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Midway Gold Corp (USA) (NYSEAMEX:MDW) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds