Bitcoin Won’t Top $9,000 by Year’s End, Novogratz Says (CNBC)
Former Fortress hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz doesn’t see much chance of bitcoin breaking out of its current slump. “I don’t think it breaks $9,000 this year,” Novogratz said on stage at the Economist Finance Disrupted event in Manhattan Tuesday. Novogratz, who predicted last year that the cryptocurrency could swell to $40,000 in 2018, said it will take until the first two quarters of next year for bitcoin to move above $10,000.
Hudson Bay Capital Says it Holds Short Position on Tesla (Reuters)
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – U.S. hedge fund Hudson Bay Capital Management holds a short position in automaker Tesla Inc., its chief executive said on Wednesday. Sander Gerber told Reuters on the sidelines of the Sohn Conference in Tel Aviv that he took the short position because a number of employees have left Tesla, and due to what he deemed “unusual conduct” of the company’s CEO Elon Musk. Tesla was not immediately available for comment.
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Fir Tree’s Stern Says German Utility E.ON Could Double in Value Over Two Years (CNBC)
Hedge fund investor Aaron Stern is a big believer in the German utility E.ON turnaround. E.ON’s “management team has engulfed in a multi-year transformation, which has been nothing short of spectacular but has yet to be rewarded by the market,” he said on CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” Wednesday. The investor said the company has sold off its legacy coal business, spun out its non-core assets and trades at a “significant discount” to its industry peers. “Yes we do believe [E.ON shares] could double over the next two years,” he said.
U.S. Hedge Fund King Street Urges Toshiba to Speed Up Share Buybacks (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Japan’s Toshiba Corp (6502.T) is “severely undervalued” and should boost share repurchases, U.S. hedge fund King Street Capital Management LP said in a letter on Wednesday. The hedge fund said Toshiba’s current share buyback commitment of 700 billion yen ($6.15 billion) is grossly insufficient and urged the company to speed up and increase its share buyback plan to 1.1 trillion yen ($9.66 billion).
Activist Hedge Fund Sees ‘Real Potential Upside’ in Papa John’s (Bloomberg)
While others are running for the door, Legion Partners Asset Management LLC sees an opportunity at scandal-plagued Papa John’s International Inc. The hedge fund, which labels itself as activist and is now one of the chain’s biggest shareholders, says Papa John’s can start boosting value for investors by selling restaurants to franchisees. There’s also room to improve Papa John’s governance and culture, as well as capitalizing on its existing strength in online ordering.
Hedge Fund Olympic Peak Plans to Short AT&T Bonds (Reuters)
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – U.S. hedge fund Olympic Peak Management’s founding partner said on Wednesday he planned to short AT&T’s debt when the fund launches in January, citing increasing competition and high leverage that may ultimately lead to a credit ratings downgrade. Todd Westhus told the Sohn Conference in Tel Aviv that the telecoms giant’s debt was misperceived as risk free while its main businesses and fundamentals were weakening, even as the U.S. economy grows.
Steve Cohen-Backed ETF Platform Is About to Break New Ground (Bloomberg)
From helping to bring gold investing to the masses to devising ETFs for short-selling hedge funds, Hector McNeil has been at the vanguard of the passive revolution for the past 20 years. Now, the 50-year old Yorkshireman is taking on the likes of BlackRock Inc. to shake up the industry in Europe. McNeil wants to fast-track the creation of passive products for wannabe issuers lacking in-house expertise or the stomach for execution risk through his firm HANetf, a white-label provider.
