Hedge Fund News: Leon Cooperman, Francesca’s Holdings Corp (FRAN), Nordson Co. (NDSN) and More

Leon Cooperman’s Omega Overseas Fund Gained 18% Last Year (Bloomberg)
Omega Advisors, the firm whose billionaire founder Leon Cooperman reached an insider-trading settlement with U.S. regulators in May, posted an 18 percent gain from one of its stock funds last year, according to a person with knowledge of the returns. The $700 million Omega Overseas Fund Class A rose 3.7 percent in December, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. A spokesman for the New York-based firm, which oversaw $3.8 billion as of Nov. 30, declined to comment on the returns.

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‘I’m Bored of Bitcoin Already’: Fund Manager Tells Crypto Investors to Cash Out While They Can (Business Insider)
Financial experts are split in their opinions when it comes to cryptocurrencies. But Australian fund manager Michael Glennon is well and truly in the bearish camp. In an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Review, the founder of Glennon Capital referred to bitcoin as a “quasi-Ponzi scheme”. Glennon Capital is a listed fund manager with a focus on small-cap stocks. “Let me be clear. I’m bored of bitcoin already,” Glennon wrote. “I’m bored with the influx of LinkedIn requests I’m getting from cryptocurrency traders I have never met and I’m bored of explaining how useless all cryptocurrencies are and how you’re better to actually buy real businesses that make real profits.”

Legendary U.S. Investor Boone Pickens Closes Energy Hedge Fund After Setbacks (Reuters)
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Legendary investor T. Boone Pickens said on Friday he had closed his Dallas-based energy hedge fund after health and financial upsets, the latest oil-focused fund to report setbacks. Pickens, 89, said in a letter posted online that he planned to focus on his health and entrepreneurship, philanthropic and political activities. He is still recovering from a serious fall last summer and suffered a series of strokes in late 2016. “Trading oil is not as intriguing to me as it once was,” he wrote. “It’s no secret the past year has not been good to me, from a health perspective or a financial one.”

Newbie Activist D.E. Shaw Eyes Campaign At Lowe’s (TheStreet)
Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (LOW – Get Report) shares spiked up 5% Friday afternoon on a report that newbie activist investor D.E. Shaw & Co., a private equity fund, is planning to agitate for change at the retail home improvement giant. According to Bloomberg, citing sources, the investor has built up an activist stake in Lowe’s and plans to agitate for change. The campaign will put new pressure on Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock. D.E. Shaw recently hired former Elliott Management portfolio manager Quentin Koffey to lead its activist investing team.