After a lengthy stretch of outperformance, small-cap stocks suffered from July 2015 through June 2016, as heightened global economic fears led investors to flee to the safe havens of large-cap stocks and other instruments. Those stocks outperformed small-caps by about 10 percentage points during that time, with small-cap healthcare stocks being particularly hard hit. However, the tide has since turned in a big way, as evidenced by small-caps toppling their large-cap peers by 5 percentage points in the third quarter, and by another 5 percentage points in the first seven weeks of the fourth quarter. In this article, we’ll analyze how this shift affected hedge funds’ Q3 trading of AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU) and see how the stock is affected by the recent hedge fund activity.
Is AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU) a great stock to buy now? The smart money is actually taking a pessimistic view. The number of bullish hedge fund positions went down by 6 in recent months. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP), Antero Resources Corp (NYSE:AR), and Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) to gather more data points.
Follow Anglogold Ashanti Ltd (NYSE:AU)
Follow Anglogold Ashanti Ltd (NYSE:AU)
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What does the smart money think about AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 21 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a fall of 22% from the second quarter of 2016. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Paulson & Co, managed by John Paulson, holds the largest position in AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) (NYSE:AU). Paulson & Co has a $203.5 million position in the stock, comprising 2.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $67.2 million position. Other members of the smart money with similar optimism include Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and John Burbank’s Passport Capital.
