Ingles Markets (IMKTA) is a regional US company with over 200 supermarkets scattered over the south-east part of the country. The company’s shares have gone up since their IPO. However, since October 2015 the value of the shares has been declining. Hedge funds are to blame for this downward pressure. This stock is held in portfolios of eleven different funds. When the carnage started, they simply could not resist selling the stock. Indeed, Q3 2015 was a difficult time for many hedge funds as their holding lost value in tandem with indexes like S&P 500 Retail (NYSE: XRT), which fell by about 7%, while Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) declined by 14% during that time. In connection with that, many hedge fund managers owning the stock decided to sell it. One of the catalysts for this decisive action was the weak annual report. On the chart below we can see how these dispositions affected the share price. Israel Englander from Millennium Management was the biggest seller among the hedge fund owners – he sold $2.7 million worth of stock. He is followed by David Costen Haley from HBK Investments, who disposed of $0.8М worth of Ingles Markets’ shares. If we look at index forecasts, which closely correlate with the stock, we will see that they are not optimistic at all. For example, T. Pizzuti and K. Hulse are from SeeItMarket.com are bearish on Russell 2000 this year. There is negative sentiment about S&P 500, as well. I think that the company’s shares will remain under downward pressure in the short-term. The negative market sentiment may cause the remaining hedge fund owners to abandon the stock or give a big haircut to their positions in it. In addition, the recent CEO replacement is not helping the matters, either. Conclusion InglesMarkets is a regular retailer with a small market capitalization. It never anticipated such a strong negative sentiment among its hedge fund owners. The fact that many hedge funds have been underwater since January 2016 implies that further selloffs are not unlikely. I would stay away from the stock and wait until the company shows some above-average results or some clear guidance under the new management.