Hyundai Home Shopping Pressed by U.S. Investor to Give Back Cash (Bloomberg)
One of Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corp.’s largest investors is calling for the company to return about $365 million in cash to shareholders, realign executive compensation and split off some of its businesses. Dalton Investments, which said its accounts and its clients own a 2.5 percent stake, said in a letter Tuesday to Hyundai Home Shopping’s board that the company appears to be suffering from the so-called “Korea Discount,” leaving long-term minority shareholders with “mediocre returns.”
Barington Capital Wants L Brands to Spin Off Victoria’s Secret Brand (TheStreet)
Shares of L Brands (LB) were up 4.4% in trading Tuesday after activist hedge fund Barington Capital sent a letter urging the company’s leadership to stem its recent losses by spinning off its struggling Victoria’s Secret brand. The fund also suggested that L Brands take its more profitable Bath & Body Works brand public with an initial public offering.
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Hedge Funds Lure Israeli Talent as Money Managers Do the Math (Bloomberg)
Israel’s small but fast-growing hedge-fund industry is getting a shot in the arm as staff from the nation’s investment houses move across in search of higher pay. Twenty-five funds launched last year as money managers left their old firms and brought clients with them, according to Tzur Management, a Tel Aviv-based firm that tracks the industry. Hedge funds have seen an influx of staff since 2016, when the government capped pay at finance companies such as banks and money managers.
Hedge Fund Manager Dan Niles Says He Went Short on Netflix Shares ‘Very, Very Recently’ (CNBC)
AlphaOne Capital Partners founding partner Dan Niles just started shorting Netflix. “Netflix was actually one of our best profit generators last year on the short side. A lot of this is timing… we weren’t short on Netflix on Dec. 24. We just put this on very, very recently,” Niles said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” Shares of the media-streaming giant have roared back more than 50 percent from their 52-week low hit on Dec. 24, and have returned more than 31 percent year to date. But Netflix is faced with more competition this year as Comcast, Warner Bros., Apple and Disney are all slated to join the streaming war, Niles pointed out.
Hertz Stock Skids 12 percent After Activist Investor Carl Icahn Discloses a Cut in His Stake (CNBC)
Hertz Global Holdings stock plummeted Tuesday after longtime activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed he has trimmed his stake, selling off roughly five million shares. In a regulatory filing late Monday, Icahn reported ownership of 24.3 million shares of the rental car company, that represents 28.9 percent of its outstanding equity. That’s down from a previously reported stake of 29.3 million shares, or about 35 percent of Hertz. Hertz shares tumbled 12 percent Tuesday morning following news of Icahn’s move. Before today, Hertz stock was up more than 46 percent this year alone. That follows a 38 percent loss in 2018.
The American With the Toughest Job in Finance: Saving Deutsche Bank (The Wall Street Journal)
Matt Zames of Cerberus Capital has a colossal mess to help clean up at the German giant, which has posted a string of disappointing results, has been designated a ‘troubled institution’ by the Federal Reserve and faces pressure to merge with a rival. To the bank, Cerberus is at once a shareholder, paid adviser and customer.
Papa John’s Founder Schnatter to Exit Board in Settlement (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Papa John’s founder John Schnatter is leaving its board of directors as part of a settlement resolving a bitter dispute for control of the world’s third-largest pizza chain. The company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday it would co-operate with Schnatter to find a mutually acceptable independent director who would not be affiliated with Schnatter or hedge fund investor Starboard Value LP, which owns a nearly 10 percent stake in the restaurant chain.
After Horrendous Investing Run, David Einhorn Exits Billionaire Club (Forbes)
For famed hedge fund short-seller David Einhorn, 2018 was a year that should have created a few big wins. After all, a decade after his legendary bet against investment bank Lehman Brothers, global stock markets erupted in chaos early in the year and closed near multiyear lows. Asset bubbles like a cryptocurrency mania Einhorn was tracking popped, and pressure mounted on his longtime foe, Tesla’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk, who was sanctioned by the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Icahn Capital Management LP Buys Dell Technologies Inc, Diamondback Energy Inc, Tenneco Inc, Sells Dell-VMWare Tracking Stock, Energen Corp, American Railcar Industries Inc (GuruFocus)
Investment company Icahn Capital Management LP buys Dell Technologies Inc, Diamondback Energy Inc, Tenneco Inc, sells Dell-VMWare Tracking Stock, Energen Corp, American Railcar Industries Inc, AmTrust Financial Services Inc, VMware Inc during the 3-months ended 2018Q4, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, Icahn Capital Management LP. As of 2018Q4, Icahn Capital Management LP owns 18 stocks with a total value of $20.4 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells. New Purchases: DELL, FANG, TEN. Added Positions: IEP, NWL. Reduced Positions: MTW. Sold Out: DVMT, EGN, ARII, AFSI, VMW.
Tuesday 3/5 Insider Buying Report: KLDO, RHP (Nasdaq.com)
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy – they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys. At Kaleido Biosciences (KLDO), a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Executive Chair Michael W. Bonney purchased 71,520 shares of KLDO, at a cost of $13.97 each, for a total investment of $999,492. So far Bonney is in the green, up about 8.0% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $15.09. Kaleido Biosciences is trading down about 2.3% on the day Tuesday. This purchase marks the first one filed by Bonney in the past year.
Rajaratnam’s $92.8 million SEC Civil Fine is Upheld (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal appeals court upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s $92.8 million civil fine against convicted Galleon Group hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, nine months after refusing to shorten his 11-year prison term for insider trading. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Tuesday rejected Rajaratnam’s arguments that the SEC penalty was excessive, improperly took his wealth into account and had no deterrent value.
The Sr. VP & Asst. Secretary of Emc Insurance Group (NASDAQ: EMCI) is Buying Shares (AnalystRatings)
Today, the Sr. VP & Asst. Secretary of Emc Insurance Group (EMCI), Robert Lynn Link, bought shares of EMCI for $35.83K. Following this transaction Robert Lynn Link’s holding in the company was increased by 11.98% to a total of $308.3K. Following Robert Lynn Link’s last EMCI Buy transaction on March 06, 2018, the stock climbed by 5.3%.
Fate Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FATE) Insider Trading Activity – General Counsel Sold 25,000 shares of Stock (MarketExclusive)
Insider Trading Activity For Fate Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FATE): Cindy Tahl , General Counsel of Fate Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FATE) reportedly Sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of 16.15 for a total transaction amount of $403,750.00.
