Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Starboard Value LP, York Capital Management, Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC), CytomX Therapeutics Inc (CTMX), Ichor Holdings Ltd (ICHR), and More

Starboard’s Newell Board Nominees Retreat After Icahn Swoop (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Four of Starboard Value’s nominees to Newell Brands Inc’s (NWL.N) board of directors withdrew their nominations, a day after the company rebuffed the activist hedge fund’s challenge by giving billionaire investor Carl Icahn four board seats. If Starboard does decide to contest board elections at Newell, it would reduce its slate of nominees to a minority of the board, the Jeffrey Smith-led hedge fund said on Tuesday. New Jersey-based Newell, known for its Sharpie pens and Rubbermaid household items, has over the past month wrangled with Starboard, which initially wanted to replace the company’s entire board with its own 12-member slate.

New York Hedge Fund Reveals Stake in Spencer’s NEX Group (FNLondon.com)
The hedge fund York Capital Management has revealed a stake in Michael Spencer’s NEX Group, as the market waits to see whether CME Group will bid for the financial trading and technology provider. The New York-based hedge fund, founded in 1991 by former investment banker Jamie Dinan, has taken a 3.39% holding in NEX, according to a notification to the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday. York crossed thresholds that require disclosure last Friday, the day after NEX confirmed it had received a preliminary approach from the CME. The futures exchange later said it was working with NEX to complete due diligence ahead of a potential offer.

oneinchpunch/Shutterstock.com

Marshall Wace Gets Keyed Up on Tech Kings: Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), Facebook Inc (FB) (SmarterAnalyst.com)
Marshall Wace first got its market legs 21 years ago, when founders Ian Wace and Paul Marshall leaned on risk management-minded thinking to bring this billions-making hedge fund machine to life. Now, this long/short equity firm is one of the biggest alternative asset management companies in the globe. If you’re following the recommendations of Wace and Marshall, whose firm landed first place among the yearly rating of Alpha’s leading hedge funds in 2016, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) are two tech stocks worth the bet.

Doing Your Homework Does Lead to Better Investing Returns, Academic Study Suggests (CNBC)
By mapping hedge fund internet protocol (IP) addresses to those accessing financial filings at the SEC, the team identified public information acquisition by hedge funds such as Renaissance Technologies, PanAgora and AQR Capital Management. Perhaps most surprising, the researchers found the median fund-month download amount is only four filings while the mean was 672, suggesting that relatively few funds are accessing vastly more information.