This Metric Says You Are Smart to Buy Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PGNX) – Cerus Corporation (CERS), XOMA Corp (XOMA)

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX) investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently.

In the eyes of most shareholders, hedge funds are assumed to be underperforming, outdated financial tools of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at the moment, we choose to focus on the upper echelon of this club, around 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on most of the smart money’s total capital, and by keeping an eye on their best investments, we have identified a few investment strategies that have historically beaten the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy beat the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (check out a sample of our picks).

Just as key, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of reasons for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a gander at the key action surrounding Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX).

What does the smart money think about Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 29% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Broadfin Capital, managed by Kevin Kotler, holds the biggest position in Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX). Broadfin Capital has a $11 million position in the stock, comprising 2.7% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Tudor Investment Corp, managed by Paul Tudor Jones, which held a $7 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management, Julian Baker and Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Broadfin Capital, managed by Kevin Kotler, assembled the largest position in Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX). Broadfin Capital had 11 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management also initiated a $4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new PGNX positions are Julian Baker and Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors and Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners.

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

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity 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 in the biotechnology industry and their market caps match PGNX’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNX) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds