Alphabet: Bill Ackman’s Bet Could Signify Deep Undervaluation (Guru Focus)
Billionaire activist investor and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman had another helping to Class A shares of Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) in the second quarter, boosting his stake by a reported $1.5 billion. Indeed, the guru has been a major buyer of the big tech dip. As a concentrated investor with far fewer holdings than your average hedge fund, he has been quite an aggressive buyer. Undoubtedly, Ackman’s move into Alphabet may have been a surprise to some given his firm’s portfolio — Pershing Square Holdings — does not tend to be a big buyer of technology stocks. Apart from the short-lived, money-losing move into and out of Netflix Inc. (NFLX), the investor has not been too active when it comes to the tech scene.
Brevan Howard Business Development Head Departs (Hedge Week)
Peter Hornick, Head of Business development at $33m global macro hedge fund manager Brevan Howard, and the man responsible for luring top talent to the firm, is leaving the business as part of a corporate rejig, according to a report by Business Insider. Hornick joined Brevan Howard in 2020 having spent the majority of the previous two years in a similar role at ExodusPoint. He also previously spent five years as the Global Head of Business Development at Izzy Englander‘s Millennium Management.
Go Ahead for State’s First Insider Trading Trial (The Irish Times)
A businessman charged in the State’s first insider trading case has been sent forward for trial. Declan Service, 62, of Sunnyvale Avenue, Portrush, Co Antrim, was arrested following a market abuse investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB). He was charged with two counts of engaging in insider dealing in that he possessed information allegedly used in acquiring and disposing of financial instruments to which that information relates.
Thursday 9/7 Insider Buying Report: LKFN, ASPN (Nasdaq.com)
On Wednesday, Lakeland Financial’s Director, M. Scott Welch, made a $508,695 purchase of LKFN, buying 10,000 shares at a cost of $50.87 a piece. Bargain hunters can pick up LKFN at a price even lower than Welch did, with shares trading as low as $49.19 at last check today which is 3.3% below Welch’s purchase price. Lakeland Financial is trading up about 1.1% on the day Thursday. Before this latest buy, Welch bought LKFN at 4 other times during the past twelve months, for a total cost of $2.69M at an average of $57.66 per share. And at Aspen Aerogels, there was insider buying on Tuesday, by Director Steven R. Mitchell who bought 50,000 shares for a cost of $6.17 each, for a trade totaling $308,455. This purchase marks the first one filed by Mitchell in the past year. Aspen Aerogels is trading up about 3.5% on the day Thursday. Mitchell was up about 6.7% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with ASPN trading as high as $6.58 in trading on Thursday.
$1M Bet On Axalta Coating Systems? Check Out These 3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Axalta Coating Systems: The Trade: Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (AXTA) Director Kevin Stein acquired a total of 36,600 shares an average price of $27.38. To acquire these shares, it cost around $1 million. Donegal Group: The Trade: Donegal Group Inc. (DGICA) 10% owner Donegal Mutual Insurance Co bought a total of 4,689 shares at an average price of $14.65. To acquire these shares, it cost around $68,675.
