Citadel Billionaire Ken Griffin Defends Melvin Stake Against ‘an Insane Conspiracy Theory’ (CNBC)
Ken Griffin, the billionaire CEO of hedge fund Citadel, defended his $2 billion investment in short seller Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital last month amid the height of the GameStop mania. “No, I think Gabe Plotkin is one of the finest investors of his generation,” Griffin told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on “Squawk Box.” The comment was in response to a question from Sorkin about whether Griffin’s investment was a mistake because it created questions about Griffin’s motivations in propping up Plotkin amid his battle with retail Reddit traders who were pumping up the price of GameStop.
Bridgewater Associates Reshuffles Leadership Ranks (The Wall Street Journal)
Bridgewater Associates is shuffling its management ranks after one of the most challenging years in the hedge-fund giant’s history. One of Bridgewater’s top executives, Chief Operating Officer Brian Kreiter, is leaving. Nir Bar Dea, previously the co-head of Bridgewater’s “investment engine,” was promoted to deputy chief executive under Chief Executive David McCormick. Bridgewater is also creating an investment committee “to broaden the decision making” beyond Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio and co-chief investment officers Bob Prince and Greg Jensen.
Billionaire Investor Leon Cooperman Blasts the Reddit-Trader Revolution as ‘Baloney’ – and Says Warren, Sanders, and AOC Shouldn’t be Deciding the Market Rules (Business Insider)
Leon Cooperman blasted the idea that the Reddit-trader rebellion was a battle between the wealthy and the poor. “That’s all baloney, this persistent attack of the wealthy,” Cooperman said in a Bloomberg interview on Thursday. “America is a country that became great because people want to aspire to become wealthy.”
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Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Hedge Fund Reports Record 2020 Returns (Fox Business)
BOSTON – Activist hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose bets on companies are closely watched, updated investors on how his flagship fund earned a record 70.2% return in 2020 on Thursday in a socially distanced way by sending out a 57-page presentation. Normally this would be one of the rare occasions where investors could pepper the billionaire investor and his partners in person with questions about markets and individual companies over dinner in New York.
Wall Street Eyes JANA’s Latest Investment (Institutional Investor)
Analysts are speculating about Laboratory Corp. of America after the activist hedge fund disclosed a stake in the company. JANA Partners attracted the attention of Wall Street analysts earlier this week when the activist hedge fund disclosed in its latest 13F filing that it had established a new stake of a little more than 800,000 shares in Laboratory Corp. of America, the life sciences company. Jefferies analysts who follow the…
“Art and Science”: Prime Capital’s Flagship Strategy Thrives with ‘Alpha-First’ Approach to Hedge Fund Manager Selection (Hedge Week)
Designed as a balanced portfolio of ‘best-in-class’ hedge fund managers, Prime Capital AG’s flagship fund of hedge funds strategy – the PCAM Blue Chip Fund – has built a formidable track record since launching in October 2007. Though the USD700 million fund-of-hedge funds vehicle initially dropped around 14 per cent in 2008, its first full year of operation, it has since generated 12 consecutive years of positive returns. Last year, the fund recorded its best annual performance since 2009’s 30.7 per cent gain, surging 10.44 per cent in spite of the market turbulence brought about by 2020’s coronavirus crisis. In 2021, PCAM Blue Chip is up 1.1 per cent year-to-date.
Melvin Capital Adapting Strategy After GameStop Mania as Hedge Funds Rethink Short-Selling Methods (CNBC)
Melvin Capital is rethinking its short-selling approach after it was caught up in the Reddit-fueled GameStop trading frenzy, according to the hedge fund’s manager. In a congressional hearing Thursday, Melvin’s Gabe Plotkin said the power of social media was on full display as retail traders to piled into shares of GameStop, and it’s something all hedge funds will have to contend with going forward.
A Director at Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
On February 17, a Director at Fiserv (FISV), Denis Oleary, bought shares of FISV for $1.01M. Following Denis Oleary’s last FISV Buy transaction on March 01, 2019, the stock climbed by 26.7%. Following this transaction Denis Oleary’s holding in the company was increased by 13.92% to a total of $8.42 million. The company has a one-year high of $123.78 and a one-year low of $73.50. Currently, Fiserv has an average volume of 943.35K. FISV’s market cap is $75.59 billion and the company has a P/E ratio of 79.20.
Ackman Details 2020 Performance, Names Female Investment Team Member (Reuters)
BOSTON (Reuters) – Activist hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose bets on companies are closely watched, updated investors on how his flagship fund earned a record 70.2% return in 2020 on Thursday in a socially distanced way by sending out a 57-page presentation. Normally this would be one of the rare occasions where investors could pepper the billionaire investor and his partners in person with questions about markets and individual companies over dinner in New York.
Quibi Says Elliott Management Might Have Supported Patent Lawsuit Because of Personal Motive (The Wall Street Journal)
Defunct streaming service Quibi is trying to force executives at Elliott Management to explain whether the hedge fund’s involvement in financing a patent lawsuit against the company was motivated by a relationship between Elliott’s founder and a colleague. In a brief filed Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, Quibi said Elliott’s founder and co-Chief Executive Officer Paul Singer, 76 years old, is in a romantic relationship with an Elliott colleague, age 70, whose son is employed by Eko, the interactive-video company claiming trade-secret theft.
Bumble Inc (BMBL) CEO & Director Whitney Wolfe Herd Bought $21 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
CEO & Director of Bumble Inc, Whitney Wolfe Herd, bought 488,371 shares of BMBL on 02/16/2021 at an average price of $43 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $21 million. Bumble Inc has a market cap of $8.26 billion; its shares were traded at around $74.000000 with a P/E ratio of 685.19 and P/S ratio of 65.43.
The EC of Quanex (NYSE: NX) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
On February 17, the EC of Quanex (NX), William Griffiths, sold shares of NX for $1.37M. Based on Quanex’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending October 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $255 million and quarterly net profit of $22.15 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $240 million and had a GAAP net loss of $30.95 million. The company has a one-year high of $26.59 and a one-year low of $7.90. NX’s market cap is $780 million and the company has a P/E ratio of 20.60.
