Is OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (OGXI) A Good Stock To Buy?

Due to the fact that OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:OGXI) has experienced a bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedgies that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. At the top of the heap, Mark Lampert’s Biotechnology Value Fund / BVF Inc dumped the biggest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $2.4 million in stock, and Chao Ku’s Nine Chapters Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.2 million worth of shares. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds last quarter.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:OGXI) but similarly valued. These stocks are Verastem Inc (NASDAQ:VSTM), The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:BONT), Gulf Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GURE), and Aviat Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AVNW). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:OGXI)’s market valuation.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $9 million. That figure was $3 million in OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:OGXI)’s case. The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:BONT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Verastem Inc (NASDAQ:VSTM) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:OGXI) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard, The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:BONT) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.