We view hedge fund activity in the stock unfavorable, but in this case there was only a single hedge fund selling its entire position: Renaissance Technologies. 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 MNTX as a viable investment and initiated a position in the stock.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTX) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE), ADMA Biologics Inc (NASDAQ:ADMA), Taseko Mines Limited (USA) (NYSEMKT:TGB), and XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA). This group of stocks’ market valuations are closest to MNTX’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAVE | 9 | 55485 | 0 |
| ADMA | 6 | 49279 | 0 |
| TGB | 4 | 4094 | -1 |
| XOMA | 11 | 5963 | -9 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 8 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $29 million. That figure was just $9 million in MNTX’s case. XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Taseko Mines Limited (USA) (NYSEMKT:TGB) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTX) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard XOMA might be a better candidate to consider a long position.
