According to a separate 13D filing, Paul Singer’s Elliott Associates L.P. and its affiliates have economic exposure to Cabelas Inc. (NYSE:CAB) of roughly 11.2%. This includes 5.12 million shares of common stock, which make up 7.4% of the company’s outstanding shares, and cash settled swaps with respect to 2.62 million shares. The billionaire’s entities had economic exposure to the specialty retailer of 11.1% in October 2015, which included 4.17 million shares of common stock.
The direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor merchandise has seen its shares decline by 24% over the past year thanks partly to a slump of 15% thus far in 2016. The company’s revenue for the nine months that ended September 26 totaled $2.59 billion, up by 9.1% relative to the same period of the prior year. Total merchandise sales, which accounted for 85% of total revenue, increased by 7.9% year-over-year due to an increase in revenue from new stores. Nonetheless, comparable store sales declined by $32 million year-over-year. It should also be mentioned that Cabelas Inc. (NYSE:CAB)’s operating expenses increased quite visibly during the first nine months of 2015, as the company’s operating income declined by 12.5% year-over-year to $180.87 million. Meanwhile, investors may ask themselves whether Cabalas represents an attractive investment opportunity at the moment. Given that U.S consumer spending was above expectations in January and considering that the stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 12.22 (which is below the average of 15.87 for the S&P 500 Index), some investors might find Cabalas quite attractive at the moment. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors LLC was not one of them, having sold out its entire stake of 758,687 shares in Cabelas Inc. (NYSE:CAB) during the fourth quarter of 2015.
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As revealed by a Form 4 filing, James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management purchased 267,493 shares of Zafgen Inc. (NASDAQ:ZFGN) this week at prices ranging from $5.51 to $6.25 per share, lifting its overall holding to 2.99 million shares. The current stake constitutes 10.98% of the company’s outstanding shares. Earlier this year, the shares of the biopharmaceutical company surged after it announced positive efficacy results from its Phase 3 clinical trial of Beloranib in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), but much of those gains has faded away gradually. The stock is down by less than 1% since the beginning of the year, partially owing to negative statements on the efficacy of beloranib from a short seller. At the end of January, hedge fund Kerrisdale Capital publicly revealed its short bet on the biopharmaceutical company, claiming that the FDA is not likely to approve Zafgen Inc. (NASDAQ:ZFGN)’s obesity drug. The hedge fund agreed that beloranib has positive effects when it comes to the reduction of body weight, but it claimed that the drug increases the risk of death by four-times. Let us remind you that the FDA put the Investigational NDA for beloranib on partial hold in October after two patients died while being involved in a Phase 3 clinical trial of beloranib. Kerrisdale Capital has a price target of $3 on the stock. It remains to be seen which of the two hedge funds made the right bet on the biopharmaceutical company, but experienced stock options traders could attempt to employ strategies that generate profits on huge upward and downward price movements. Columbus Circle Investors, managed by Clifford G. Fox, sold out of its 36,009-share position in Zafgen Inc. (NASDAQ:ZFGN) during the fourth quarter.
