Knoll Inc (KNL): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It

Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.

In the financial world, there are tons of methods market participants can use to watch the equity markets. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outclass the market by a superb margin (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. There are a variety of motivations for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the latest action encompassing Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL).

How have hedgies been trading Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 13% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.

Of the funds we track, Daruma Asset Management, managed by Mariko Gordon, holds the biggest position in Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL). Daruma Asset Management has a $42.5 million position in the stock, comprising 2.2% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, which held a $38.9 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Robert Bishop’s Impala Asset Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names have jumped into Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) headfirst. Impala Asset Management, managed by Robert Bishop, initiated the largest position in Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL). Impala Asset Management had 7.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management also initiated a $1.3 million position during the quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL)?

Insider buying is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, Knoll Inc (NYSE:KNL) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at 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). All of these stocks are in the business equipment industry and their market caps are similar to KNL’s market cap.