Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Knoll Inc (KNL) Anymore

Because Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there is a sect of fund managers that slashed their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group said goodbye to the largest stake of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $3.2 million in stock, and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $0.8 million worth of KNL shares. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds last quarter.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI), Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE), Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IILG), and California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble KNL’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 15 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $72 million. That figure was just $19 million in KNL’s case. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions, on par with Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL). 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.