Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Third Point, Mike Novogratz, Know Labs Inc (KNWN), Novartis AG (NVS), and More

Nestle Counts on Better Second Half to Keep Third Point at Bay (Reuters)
ZURICH (Reuters) – Nestle (NESN.S) Chief Executive Mark Schneider said he was convinced the food giant had the right strategy in place to further improve sales and profitability as it seeks to head off criticism from activist shareholder Third Point. Packaged food groups have seen sales slow as health-conscious consumers switch to fresh, local foods and Nestle is reviewing its portfolio to get rid of underperforming brands while also launching more new products to address these challenges. The KitKat chocolate bar maker has come under pressure from New York-based hedge fund Third Point, run by investor Daniel Loeb, asking for a bolder and faster overhaul at the world’s biggest food group.

Mike Novogratz’s Crypto Firm Lost $134 Million in the First Quarter (Bloomberg)
Galaxy Digital LP, the crypto-focused merchant bank founded by Mike Novogratz, posted a $134 million loss in its first quarter, when the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plunged. Galaxy Digital’s trading business had $13.5 million of losses and an additional $85.5 million of unrealized losses on digital assets, plus a $1.1 million paper loss on investments, the New York-based firm said July 25 in its first quarterly disclosure. The eight-month-old firm also posted $22.9 million paper losses on investments in its principal investing business.

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Fighting Billionaires Need to Back Off in Italy (Bloomberg)
Even amid the distraction of open conflict between his two biggest investors, Telecom Italia SpA CEO Amos Genish is somehow managing to keep the carrier on track to meet his turnaround plans. It’s a healthy reminder to Vivendi SA and activist fund Elliott Management Corp. to temper their more combative instincts and let the respected telecoms executive get on with the job. This applies just as much to Paul Singer’s hedge fund as it does to Vincent Bollore’s French media conglomerate.

Don’t Even Think About Buying An NFL Team If You Never Worked For Julian Robertson (DealBreaker.com)
When David Tepper added the Carolina Panthers to his collection of prized possessions, right alongside those veiny brass balls, earlier this month, he became the first hedge fund manager to own an NFL franchise. (We are not counting Jed York, who spent all of a year at Guggenheim Partners before racing back to the family business, which was and is owning the San Francisco 49ers.) In this (and only this) way, America’s most popular brain-injury merchants are way behind the other sports leagues, which are littered with alternative investment sorts seeking to impose their data-driven quantitative ways on their teams.