AQR Launches Diversifying Strategies Fund (Hedge Week)
AQR Capital Management (AQR) has launched the AQR Diversifying Strategies Fund, which is designed to be a single solution to gain exposure to liquid alternatives with attractive long-term risk-adjusted returns by investing in a portfolio of AQR’s alternative mutual funds. Leveraging AQR’s 20-year track record in alternative investing and position as a leader in liquid alternatives, the Fund is intended to serve as a complementary addition to an investor’s traditional stock and bond portfolio. The Fund will offer exposure to multiple alternative return sources that are independent from traditional stock and bond markets, which creates the potential to do well in various market environments.
Watch the Full Interview with Druckenmiller on Missing the Market Comeback and What He’s Betting On (CNBC)
Longtime hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller had an admission to make. The billionaire investor acknowledged that the massive market rebound recently has “humbled” him. Druckenmiller said in a CNBC interview that he missed out on the comeback due to his underestimation of the Federal Reserve’s power, returning only 3% during the market’s 40% rally since the S&P 500′s March bottom.
Commvault Settles with Starboard, Adds 3 Newcomers to Board (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Data management software maker Commvault Systems Inc (CVLT.O) said on Monday it reached an agreement with Starboard Value that brings three newcomers onto the board and ends a two-month long proxy contest with the activist hedge fund. Starboard, which owns a 9.3% stake, had nominated six directors, including its founder, Jeffrey Smith, to join Commvault’s 11-member board. Todd Bradley, who had been nominated by Starboard, Allison Pickens and Arlen Shenkman are now directors while Alan Bunte, Frank Fanzilli and Daniel Pulver will leave the board, the company said.
Richard Gerson of Falcon Edge Capital
Hedge Fund Gets a Target to Cover Its Short Position (Bloomberg)
A short position covering 17% of a thinly traded company is so big it risks being impossible to close. Other investors will see you coming. Yet hedge fund Asia Research & Capital Management Ltd. is set to cover most of its mammoth bet against the U.K.’s Premier Oil Plc by buying shares at a discount to the market price. That elegant exit is being provided courtesy of Premier itself, which is creating new shares for the purpose. It’s an embarrassing way for the oil producer to make peace with its adversary.
Hedge Funds are in Unchartered Waters Right Now. Here’s How 12 Billionaires Like Ray Dalio, Ken Griffin, and Seth Klarman Survived the Last Time the World Fell Apart. (Business Insider)
Ken Griffin changed his business. Steve Cohen got back to basics. Jamie Dinan and David Tepper reexamined old investing maxims in a new light. The financial recession of 2008 led to more than a decade of low-interest rates, uneven recovery, and re-energized populist movements across the world. It was also the last time there was sustained economic disruption at the scale that is currently being experienced thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. For many hedge funds, this is the first time they’ve had to invest in this type of environment – hundreds have been launched since 2008, and industry stalwarts have closed down as well.
Falcon Edge is on a Tear (Institutional Investor)
The Tiger Grandcub is now one of the top-performing hedge funds this year. Well, that didn’t take long. After Tiger Management descendant Falcon Edge Capital Management heavily revamped its U.S. long portfolio in the first quarter, the hedge fund posted two double-digit monthly gains in a row, according to its first-quarter letter, dated June 3 and obtained by Institutional Investor.
Notable Insider Buys This Past Week: HP, UPS And More (Benzinga)
Insiders continued to add shares despite overall market volatility and global economic gloom. The following are some of the most noteworthy insider purchases reported in the past week. Pinnacle Financial Partners: Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc (PNFP) saw an executive and three directors take advantage of a secondary offering and purchase 116,000 depositary shares altogether. At a per-share price of $25, that totaled $2.9 million. Note that two of those directors also bought shares back in March. UPS: United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) CEO Carol Tome stepped up to the buy window recently. She picked up 10,100 shares of this Atlanta-based company for an average of $99.33 each. That cost her more than $1 million. Tome’s stake was listed as 13,036 shares.
Nordson Corp (NDSN) Executive Vice President, CFO Gregory A Thaxton Sold $7.8 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Executive Vice President, CFO of Nordson Corp., Gregory A Thaxton, sold 40,400 shares of NDSN on 06/05/2020 at an average price of $193.42 a share. The total sale was $7.8 million. Nordson Corp engineers, manufactures and markets differentiated products and systems used for adhesive, coating, sealant and biomaterial dispensing, fluid management, testing and inspection, curing, and surface treatment.
Monday 6/8 Insider Buying Report: KLDO, THR (Nasdaq.com)
On Thursday, Kaleido Biosciences’ Director, Kyriazi Theo Melas, made a $249,998 buy of KLDO, purchasing 33,333 shares at a cost of $7.50 each. Investors can buy KLDO at a price even lower than Melas did, with shares trading as low as $7.16 in trading on Monday which is 4.5% below Melas’s purchase price. Kaleido Biosciences is trading up about 4% on the day Monday. And at Thermon Group Holdings, there was insider buying on Wednesday, by Director Michael W. Press who purchased 13,300 shares for a cost of $14.97 each, for a trade totaling $199,101. This buy marks the first one filed by Press in the past twelve months. Thermon Group Holdings is trading off about 0.4% on the day Monday. So far Press is in the green, up about 17.2% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $17.54.
What Did This CEO Just Do with Personal Shares of United States Cellular (NYSE: USM)? (Analyst Ratings)
Today, the President & CEO of United States Cellular (USM), Kenneth R. Meyers, sold shares of USM for $2M. This is Meyers’ first transaction since reporting a Sell transaction on TDS back in March 2019 In addition to Kenneth R. Meyers, 2 other USM executives reported Sell trades in the last month. The company has a one-year high of $51.20 and a one-year low of $23.91. Currently, United States Cellular has an average volume of 79.64K. USM’s market cap is $2.82 billion and the company has a P/E ratio of 20.30.
Iliad’s Lombardini Gets Increased Insider Trading Fine on Appeal (Bloomberg Law)
Paris appeals court increases to EU800,000 the fine given to Maxime Lombardini, vice-chairman of Iliad’s board, for civil insider-trading violations. Lombardini was fined EU600,000 in April 2019 by enforcement committee of France’s financial market regulator, who accused him of selling shares before Iliad’s stock tumbled when it made a surprise 2014 takeover bid for T-Mobile US Inc. Paris court says the “particular seriousness” of the wrongdoing means the fine wasn’t large enough to have a dissuasive effect and should be increased. Representatives of Iliad and a lawyer for Lombardini didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Amphenol Corp (APH) President & CEO Richard Adam Norwitt Sold $54.7 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
President & CEO of Amphenol Corp., Richard Adam Norwitt, sold 525,000 shares of APH on 06/05/2020 at an average price of $104.16 a share. The total sale was $54.7 million. Amphenol Corp is engaged in the field of electronic components. It designs and manufactures electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors, interconnect systems and coaxial and flat-ribbon cables.
