Optimist Fund Exited Monday.com (MNDY) in Q1. Here’s Why

Soumya Eswaran

Tue, May 19, 2026 at 9:06 AM EDT 3 min read

Optimist Fund, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund’s objective is to achieve capital growth at a rate in the mid-teens or higher over the course of several decades. In Q1 2026, the Fund declined 27.3%, driven by a swift shift in the market narrative amid fears of AI disruption and the outbreak of war in Iran. The fund views this drawdown as an opportunity to strengthen the core holdings at more attractive prices. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.

In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Optimist Fund highlighted stocks like monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY). monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) develops software applications and work management tools. On May 18, 2026, monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) stock closed at $78.04 per share. One-month return of monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) was 15.00%, and its shares lost 74.16% over the past 52 weeks. monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion.

Optimist Fund stated the following regarding Monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:

"Monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) – We maintained a position in Monday.com into 2026, believing management could execute against the objectives they had outlined in the fall of 2025.

Following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release in February, we exited the position. Results came in below our expectations, and more importantly, management was unable to clearly articulate changing trends occurring within the business.

When we lose confidence in the clarity and reliability of management’s communication, we exit. That is what we have done here."

monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 51 hedge fund portfolios held monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 55 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2026, monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) achieved revenue of $351 million, an increase of 24% from the year ago quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) and shared the list of best Middle East and Africa stocks to buy according to hedge funds. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.