This study investigates analysts' attitudes toward the conflicts between hedge fund activists and target firm management by examining the impact of managerial ability on analyst recommendations around hedge fund activism. We find that analysts are more likely to reiterate recommendations and less likely to downgrade recommendations for target firms with high managerial skills following the arrival of hedge fund activists. This may be because analysts could recognize advantages associated with target firm management’s superior ability that enables them to avoid costly fights with hedge fund activists. We also show that stronger managerial ability is associated with the higher analyst forecast accuracy during hedge fund intervention. Collectively, our evidence supports the positive impact of managerial ability on analysts’ opinions over the course of hedge fund activist campaign and sheds light on the information gathering and processing ability of financial analysts.