First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. AG has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with AG holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are many indicators market participants can use to watch Mr. Market. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a solid amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are lots of incentives for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if you know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action regarding First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG).
How have hedgies been trading First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 17% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Eric Sprott’s Sprott Asset Management had the largest position in First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG), worth close to $71.2 million, comprising 9.3% of its total 13F portfolio. On Sprott Asset Management’s heels is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $7.7 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Michael Hintze’s CQS Cayman LP and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Now, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. SAC Capital Advisors, managed by Steven Cohen, established the largest position in First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG). SAC Capital Advisors had 1.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management also made a $0.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter.
What have insiders been doing with First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG). These stocks are Silvercorp Metals Inc. (USA) (NYSE:SVM), Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:SSRI), Pan American Silver Corp. (USA) (NASDAQ:PAAS), Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL), and Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation (NYSE:CDE). This group of stocks belong to the silver industry and their market caps match AG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Silvercorp Metals Inc. (USA) (NYSE:SVM) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:SSRI) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Pan American Silver Corp. (USA) (NASDAQ:PAAS) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) | 21 | 1 | 0 |
| Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation (NYSE:CDE) | 12 | 1 | 0 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned research, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG) is an important part of this process.
