Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PGNX): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It But Hedge Funds Love It

Is Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX) a good investment?

To the average investor, there are tons of indicators shareholders can use to watch publicly traded companies. Some 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 best picks of the top fund managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as useful, positive insider trading activity is a second way to look at the investments you’re interested in. There are many motivations for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

Furthermore, let’s analyze the recent info about Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX).

How have hedgies been trading Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 50% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management had the biggest position in Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX), worth close to $18.9 million, comprising 1.4% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Julian Baker and Felix Baker of Baker Bros. Advisors, with a $18.7 million position; the fund has 0.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include Kevin Kotler’s Broadfin Capital, Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp and Frank Brosens’s Taconic Capital.

With a general bullishness amongst the titans, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Highland Capital Management, managed by James Dondero, assembled the most valuable position in Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX). Highland Capital Management had 18.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Julian Baker and Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors also initiated a $18.7 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new PGNX positions are Kevin Kotler’s Broadfin Capital, Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp, and Frank Brosens’s Taconic Capital.

Insider trading activity in Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX)

Insider buying made by high-level executives is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX). These stocks are XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA), Oncolytics Biotech, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:ONCY), Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS), Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS), and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS). This group of stocks are the members of the biotechnology industry and their market caps match PGNX’s market cap.

Using the returns explained by Insider Monkey’s analyses, average investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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Should You Buy Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PGNX)?

Hedge Fund Activity