Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. KNL shareholders have witnessed a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with KNL positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are many methods market participants can use to track publicly traded companies. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a peek at the latest action encompassing Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL).
What does the smart money think about Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -33% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Mariko Gordon’s Daruma Asset Management had the most valuable position in Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL), worth close to $43.4 million, accounting for 2.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson of Adage Capital Management, with a $28.3 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
Since Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) has faced declining sentiment from the smart money, we can see that there were a few fund managers who were dropping their positions entirely in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Robert Bishop’s Impala Asset Management dropped the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising an estimated $4 million in stock.. Jim Simons’s fund, Renaissance Technologies, also said goodbye to its stock, about $2.1 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds in Q4.
What have insiders been doing with Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL)?
Insider buying is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL). These stocks are Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI), VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY), Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS), Herman Miller, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLHR), and HNI Corp (NYSE:HNI). This group of stocks are in the business equipment industry and their market caps are closest to KNL’s market cap.
