Do Hedge Funds Love Mercer International Inc. (MERC)?

Seeing as Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) has experienced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there were a few hedge funds that elected to cut their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management cashed in the biggest position of all the hedgies studied by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $3.4 million in stock, and George McCabe’s Portolan Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $1.2 million worth of shares.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACRS), Otonomy Inc (NASDAQ:OTIC), Titan International Inc (NYSE:TWI), and ConnectOne Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CNOB). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to MERC’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $87 million. That figure was $170 million in MERC’s case. Titan International Inc (NYSE:TWI) is the most popular stock in this table, while ConnectOne Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CNOB) is the least popular one with only seven funds holding shares. Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard Titan International Inc (NYSE:TWI) might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.

Disclosure: none