Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Marc Lasry, Elliott Management, Third Point LLC, StealthGas Inc. (GASS), Pivotal Software Inc (PVTL), and More

It’s Politics Zapping Stocks, a Big Democratic Hedge Fund Guy Says (Bloomberg)
Who knows what’s moving markets? Marc Lasry says he knows. It’s politics, and concern the Democrats will triumph in next week’s midterms. “If Democrats get control, I think you’re just going to have a lot more volatility. The reason you’ll have more volatility is that you’re going to have more headlines,” the Avenue Capital founder said in an interview with Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg Television. “Political risk is getting priced in.”

Veritas Capital, Elliott Close to Deal to Buy Athenahealth: Source (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Private equity firm Veritas Capital has teamed up with hedge fund Elliott Management Corp in a bid to buy U.S. healthcare software maker Athenahealth Inc (ATHN.O), and is close to sealing an agreement, a person familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear how much the acquiring consortium was offering and how quickly a deal could be announced. Bloomberg News first reported that Veritas and Elliott were nearing a deal for Athenahealth.

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What Campbell Can Learn from Third Point (The Wall Street Journal)
Campbell Soup Co. could stand to learn a thing or two from its critics. Dan Loeb’s activist hedge fund, Third Point, is seeking to replace Campbell’s entire board of directors in a November shareholder vote. It has made a case that Campbell’s board has done a poor job, which wasn’t too hard considering that the stock is down 30% over the last two years.

Ray Dalio Reveals His Paramount Exemplar (DealBreaker)
Lots of people think that Ray Dalio is the greatest man on earth: Tony Robbins, Steph Curry, his cult initiates employees. But who does the Svengali Philosopher-King of Westport think is the peak example of humanity? Who withstands the tortuous tests imposed by Dalio’s Principles to emerge as the most radically transparent, the most unflinchingly honest? It’s not Jim Comey, or Xi Jinping, or the last employee who pointed out one of his flaws, or even himself. Nope: It’s former Fed chair and newly-minted memoirist Paul Volcker, who has certainly earned his right to an opinion and isn’t shy about sharing them.

Elliott’s ASG Says it Wants to Buy Mitek, Shares Jump (Reuters)
NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) – Hedge fund Elliott Management Corp.’s software company ASG Technologies said on Wednesday it was offering to buy Mitek Systems Inc (MITK.O) for $10 a share after the provider of financial technology to banks rejected an earlier takeover approach. ASG said in a letter to Mitek that it is reaffirming its “proposal to acquire Mitek for $10.00 per share in cash, a 51 percent premium above the unaffected price on October 9, 2018”, valuing the company at $425 million including debt.