Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY) was in 23 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. auy investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 22 hedge funds in our database with auy holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY)

In the financial world, there are tons of methods market participants can use to analyze the equity markets. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a variety of incentives for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a gander at the latest action encompassing Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY).

How are hedge funds trading Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY)?

At year’s end, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 5% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the most valuable position in Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY). Renaissance Technologies has a $34 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Passport Capital, managed by John Burbank, which held a $22 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management, and Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management.

As aggregate interest increased, key money managers have jumped into Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY) headfirst. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, assembled the biggest position in Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY). Renaissance Technologies had 34 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments also initiated a $4 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new auy investors: Trey Reik’s Bristol Investment Partners, SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors, and Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates.

How are insiders trading Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY)?

Insider buying is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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