Bill Ackman Announces Foundation Funding for Controversial Ousted MIT and Whitehead Institute Scientist (CNN)
A decorated but controversial biologist ousted for alleged sexual misconduct from the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute is getting new funding with help from billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Dr. David Sabatini, best known for scientific discoveries in cell biology related to mTOR, a protein that helps regulate cell functions, resigned from the Whitehead Institute in August 2021 after an independent investigation found that he violated Whitehead’s anti-harassment policies. Sabatini ran a lab at the Whitehead Institute for more than two decades, and the report faulted him in part for the lab culture he created, and for engaging in a sexual relationship with a Whitehead fellow he mentored.
Spotify Has a New Activist Investor That Wants Cost Cuts (Billboard.com)
ValueAct’s chief executive said Spotify is now “sorting out what was built to last and what was built for the bubble.” ValueAct Capital Management, a hedge fund with a history of being an activist investor, now holds a stake in Spotify. Mason Morfit, the San Francisco-based company’s chief executive officer and chief investment officer, revealed the firm’s ownership in Spotify shares at an event at Columbia University on Friday (Feb. 10), according to reports.
Ken Griffin’s Miami Move Inspires Investors Who Want to Work From the Beach (Bloomberg)
Finance professionals all over the world would like to follow Ken Griffin to Miami. Florida — where Griffin relocated his Citadel hedge fund — tops the investor wish list when asked where they would move if they could work from anywhere globally. The sunny southern locale with low taxes, and specifically Miami, is also coming up as a rival to Singapore and New York for the title of the hottest residential market this year, according to the latest MLIV Pulse survey.
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Bath & Body Works Adds New Director as Third Point Pushes for Changes (Reuters)
Bath & Body Works named a veteran consumer products executive as a new director on Monday as the specialty retailer faces pressure from hedge fund Third Point LLC to cut costs and refresh its board. Lucy Brady, a senior executive at Conagra Brands (CAG.N), expands the board to 11 from 10 members. She had spearheaded digital consumer engagement at McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) and led the global consumer practice at The Boston Consulting Group.
Three Arrows Founders Start Crypto Bankruptcy Claims Exchange (The Wall Street Journal)
The founders of failed hedge fund Three Arrows Capital Ltd. have resurfaced with a $25 million crypto-exchange venture that will let users trade bankruptcy claims from insolvent platforms and funds, including their own. Open Exchange, or OPNX, was created by Su Zhu and Kyle Davies—who set up Three Arrows together—and the two founders of crypto exchange CoinFLEX. The new platform is expected to launch by the end of this month, Mr. Su said. It has begun accepting applications from individuals who want to be among the first to trade their crypto claims; Mr. Su tweeted on Sunday that there were more than 3,600 sign-ups so far. U.S. residents are among those that aren’t eligible for the wait list, the company said.
Opalesque Roundup: Hedge Funds See January Gains as HFRI 500 Surges 2.5 Percent: Hedge Fund News, Week 06 (Opalesque.com)
In the week ending February 10th 2023, a report by HFR revealed that hedge funds surged to begin 2023 as risk-on sentiment dominated financial markets and investors positioned for a moderation of inflationary pressures and interest rate increases through mid-2023, despite continued uncertainty over weakening economic growth. The investable HFRI 500 Fund Weighted Composite Index jumped +2.5 percent in January, led by directional Equity Hedge and Event Driven strategies. Meanwhile, hedge funds saw performance turn negative overall in 2022 as shifts in the macroeconomic backdrop impacted investment markets.
What Layoffs? Top Wall Street Traders Score Giant Paydays (The New York Times)
Some large hedge funds that profited off the recent market volatility are wooing traders with tens of millions of dollars in guaranteed payouts. As workers around the country frantically negotiate severance packages amid tens of thousands of layoffs, employees in a tiny, influential and often secretive corner of Wall Street are being promised some of their biggest paydays ever. Welcome to the world of elite hedge funds, where risky bets using esoteric number-crunching and cutthroat strategies, applied to the same economic and market uncertainties that have roiled corporate America and led to job cuts, have produced gigantic profits.
Monday 2/13 Insider Buying Report: RBOT, VBTX (Nasdaq.com)
At Vicarious Surgical, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, Director Philip Liang purchased 79,009 shares of RBOT, at a cost of $3.05 each, for a total investment of $240,740. So far Liang is in the green, up about 5.0% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $3.20. Vicarious Surgical is trading up about 1% on the day Monday. Before this latest buy, Liang purchased RBOT on 2 other occasions during the past year, for a total investment of $163,547 at an average of $3.05 per share. And at Veritex Holdings, there was insider buying on Friday, by Director John Sughrue who purchased 3,652 shares at a cost of $27.36 each, for a trade totaling $99,919.
$5M Bet On Minerva Surgical? Check Out These 4 Penny Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Minerva Surgical: The Trade: Minerva Surgical, Inc. (UTRS) 10% owner Scott Sandell bought a total of 24,437,927 shares at an average price of $0.20. To acquire these shares, it cost around $5 million. Vicarious Surgical: The Trade: Vicarious Surgical Inc. (RBOT) Director Philip Liang acquired a total 79,009 shares at an average price of $3.05. The insider spent around $240.74 thousand to buy those shares.
New SEC Rules Target Corporate Insider Trading (The Wall Street Journal)
For the last two decades, officers and directors at U.S. public companies seeking to trade illicitly on inside information had an almost infallible get-out-of-jail-free card. All they had to do was use prearranged trading plans when they bought and sold their companies’ shares. The odds the government would target them for enforcement actions were slim. It was an unintended consequence of a regulation adopted in 2000 called Rule 10b5-1 that academic research shows was abused by some executives.
