Operational Excellence and Strong Financial Results Boosted NPK International (NPKI)

Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here.  During the quarter, equity markets experienced a significant rebound, increasing by 23% from their lowest points within the period to reach new record highs. In this environment, the fund returned 6.96% (net) in the second quarter compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 11.97% return. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, the Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund highlighted stocks such as NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI). NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) is a temporary worksite access solutions company. NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) stock gained 9.05% over the past month, and its shares appreciated 24.02% in value over the last 52 weeks. On August 19, 2025, NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) stock closed at $9.76 per share, with a market capitalization of $824.064 million.

Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) is a leading provider of recyclable composite matting solutions, serving site access needs across the utility, oil & gas, and construction industries. The company operates the largest rental mat fleet in the industry, with its lightweight, environmentally sustainable alternatives continuing to gain market share from traditional wood-based solutions. The stock outperformed during the period, driven by consistent operational execution and a series of strong financial results. In addition, the recent divestiture of its drilling fluids business marks a strategic shift away from energy and toward industrials—a repositioning that may support a valuation re-rating over time. Given the stock’s recent appreciation, we modestly trimmed our position during the period.”

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A crowded drilling platform in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, the workers handling oil and natural gas equipment.

NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 19 hedge fund portfolios held NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) at the end of the first quarter, which was 21 in the previous quarter. NPK International Inc.’s (NYSE:NPKI) second-quarter revenue reached $68 million, up 5% sequentially. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) and shared the list of hot oil stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.