Forbes Energy Services Ltd. (FES): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

We view hedge fund activity in the stock unfavorable, but in this case there was only a single hedge fund selling its entire position: Citadel Investment Group. One hedge fund selling its entire position doesn’t always imply a bearish intent. Theoretically a hedge fund may decide to sell a promising position in order to invest the proceeds in a more promising idea. However, we don’t think this is the case in this case because none of the 700+ hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey identified FES as a viable investment and initiated a position in the stock.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Forbes Energy Services Ltd. (NASDAQ:FES) but similarly valued. We will take a look at MELA Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:MELA), Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:WAVX), Essex Rental Corp. (NASDAQ:ESSX), and Hooper Holmes, Inc. (NYSEMKT:HH). This group of stocks’ market values match FES’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 4.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1 million. That figure was $2 million in FES’s case. Essex Rental Corp. (NASDAQ:ESSX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand MELA Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:MELA) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Forbes Energy Services Ltd. (NASDAQ:FES) is even less popular than MELA. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.