Bridgewater Dumps Bank Stocks Amid Turmoil in First Quarter (Reuters)
Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, sold U.S. bank stocks in the first quarter as the collapse of regional lenders rattled investors, according to regulatory filings. The firm, founded by billionaire Ray Dalio, exited positions in five U.S. banking giants: JPMorgan & Co (JPM.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Boom: Bill Ackman Takes a $1 Billion Stake in Alphabet Stock (The Motley Fool)
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman recently bought stock in Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) for his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. He started the position during the first quarter, but news of the purchase only surfaced this week, days after Alphabet introduced new artificial intelligence (AI) products at its I/O developer conference. Of course, those products had nothing to do with Ackman’s decision, but as one of the foremost AI companies in the world, Alphabet is well positioned to benefit from soaring demand for AI software. That likely contributed to the decision, and Ackman seems to have a great deal of confidence in the company. His investment in Alphabet is worth more than $1 billion, split between Class A and Class C shares, and it accounts for over 10% of his portfolio.
Steve Cohen’s Point72 Power Moves During Q1 Featured Walmart, Intel, NVIDIA and McDonald’s (Nasdaq.com)
The Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund, Point72 Asset Management released its trading report for the March quarter this week. The hedge fund founded in 2014 by Steven Cohen told the SEC that it had a value of $32.29 billion at the end of March, growing 9.74% during the first quarter of 2023 from $29.42 billion in December. Known for his razor-sharp investment acumen and legendary Wall Street prowess, Cohen has built a financial empire that leaves even the most-seasoned financiers in awe. With a disciplined yet audacious approach, he has mastered the art of navigating the treacherous waters of the market, transforming Point72 into a beacon of success. He’s also been the majority owner of the New York Mets Major League Baseball team since September 2020.
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Musk Targets Soros On Twitter After Defending Earlier Comments— Despite Criticism Over Fanning Conspiracies (Forbes)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk continued to target billionaire investor George Soros on Twitter Tuesday—accusing him of enabling violent crime to go relatively unpunished—despite being condemned for using right-wing conspiracies and antisemitic tropes to attack Soros. Key Facts: Musk’s remarks were made as a reply to a tweet by venture capitalist and early SpaceX investor David Sacks, who criticized Soros’ backing of progressive district attorney candidates in elections and called his actions “uniquely destructive to law & order in American cities.”
The Elliott-Led Activist Skirmish With Salesforce Lured Hedge Fund Investors (Institutional Investor)
As of the end of the first quarter, several big name hedgies had piled into the stock, turning into a hedge fund hotel. Elliott wasn’t among them. When Elliott Management said it had taken a multi-billion dollar stake in software giant Salesforce on January 23, it appeared that Salesforce CEO and cofounder Marc Benioff might be in for a bruising activist battle.
AMD Shares Climb 5.2% on Third Point Stake (MarketWatch)
Advanced Micro Devices shares climbed 5.2% to $102.42 following Monday’s disclosure that Daniel Loeb‘s Third Point LLC took a stake in the company. The hedge fund run by Mr. Loeb, an activist investor, has a stake in the chip maker of 1 million shares, according to a regulatory filing. Shares of AMD have been mixed in recent weeks. The stock fell more than 9% on May 3, a day after its reported earnings showed the company swinging to a loss in the first quarter. Shares recovered the next day following a Bloomberg report that AMD will work with Microsoft to develop artificial intelligence processors.
Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund ARK36 Launches Algorithmic Machine Learning Trading Software (FinancialIT.net)
ARK36, the Cyprus-based leading alternative investment digital asset fund, has announced today the launch of a unique, proprietary machine learning-based trading software system, to improve the way its portfolio management team can navigate the dynamic world of cryptocurrency trading. The new software will leverage advanced algorithms to enable ARK36’s traders to make more informed decisions, navigate market challenges and optimise their trading strategies with precision and confidence.
Tudor Jones on Bitcoin: ‘I’ve Never Sat on a Horse That Long’ (Blockworks.co)
Longtime trader and billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he’s sticking with bitcoin despite the regulatory pressures in the United States. “From the beginning, I’ve always said that I want to have a small allocation [of bitcoin],” Jones said. “It’s the only thing that humans can’t adjust the supply [of].” “I’m sticking with it. I’m always going to stick with it,” he added.
Tuesday 5/16 Insider Buying Report: DISH, ET (Nasdaq.com)
At DISH Network, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Friday, James Defranco purchased 3,000,000 shares of DISH, for a cost of $6.20 each, for a total investment of $18.59M. Defranco was up about 13.2% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with DISH trading as high as $7.01 in trading on Tuesday. DISH Network is trading up about 1% on the day Tuesday. Before this latest buy, Defranco bought DISH on 9 other occasions during the past year, for a total cost of $39.13M at an average of $12.79 per share. And also on Friday, Executive Chairman Kelcy L. Warren bought $6.14M worth of Energy Transfer, buying 500,000 shares at a cost of $12.27 a piece. Before this latest buy, Warren bought ET at 9 other times during the past year, for a total investment of $142.27M at an average of $12.11 per share. Energy Transfer is trading down about 0.5% on the day Tuesday. So far Warren is in the green, up about 2.4% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $12.56.
Electronic Arts, TD SYNNEX And 2 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling (Benzinga)
ResMed: The Trade: ResMed Inc. (RMD) CFO Brett Sandercock sold a total of 12,574 shares at an average price of $233.13. The insider received around $2.93 million from selling those shares. Electronic Arts: The Trade: Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) Director Richard A Simonson sold a total of 10,000 shares at an average price of $125.66. The insider received around $1.26 million from selling those shares.
