Is Cameco Corporation (USA) (CCJ) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ) investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are many gauges investors can use to monitor their holdings. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are a number of reasons for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a gander at the key action encompassing Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ).

How have hedgies been trading Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Vinik Asset Management, managed by Jeffrey Vinik, holds the largest position in Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ). Vinik Asset Management has a $65.9 million position in the stock, comprising 1.9% of its 13F portfolio. On Vinik Asset Management’s heels is Levin Capital Strategies, managed by John A. Levin, which held a $7.8 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds with similar optimism include Michael Hintze’s CQS Cayman LP, Richard L. Haydon’s Yield Capital Partners (Y/Cap Management) and Thomas E. Claugus’s GMT Capital.

Since Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that slashed their entire stakes at the end of the first quarter. Interestingly, Richard Chilton’s Chilton Investment Company dumped the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we track, valued at close to $10.6 million in call options, and Arvind Sanger of GeoSphere Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $4.5 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How are insiders trading Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ) has experienced 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 Cameco Corporation (USA) (NYSE:CCJ). These stocks are Central Fund of Canada Limited (USA) (NYSEAMEX:CEF), Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU), Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd (NYSE:TRQ), Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:YZC), and CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX). This group of stocks are the members of the industrial metals & minerals industry and their market caps resemble CCJ’s market cap.