Wausau Paper Corp. (WPP): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Water Island Capital, managed by John Orrico, established the most valuable position in Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP). Water Island Capital had $4.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $2.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital, and Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP). These stocks are Vimicro International Corporation (ADR) (NASDAQ:VIMC), Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc (NYSE:BBW), Ecopetrol S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:EC), and EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW). All of these stocks’ market caps match WPP’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $42 million. That figure was $116 million in WPP’s case. EZCORP Inc (NASDAQ:EZPW) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Vimicro International Corporation (ADR) (NASDAQ:VIMC) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP) is the most popular stock in this group and that makes it worth a closer look.