Ironwood Pharma May Satisfy Activist Denner with Split-up Plan, but He Still Seeks Board Seat (CNBC)
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals’ stock rose Tuesday after the company said it plans to separate next year, immediately establishing profitability for its commercial entity and separating some of its pipeline assets into another unit. The moves come after activist investor Alex Denner of Sarissa Capital said he was seeking a board seat. Denner said in an interview Tuesday he supports the moves, but is still seeking the seat. Sarissa filed its proxy statement to that effect Tuesday afternoon.
Och-Ziff Has First Inflows in Two Years (Bloomberg)
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC is finally bringing investors back into the fold after suffering eight straight quarters of outflows. The hedge fund firm, founded by billionaire Dan Och, lured $381 million in client cash in the first three months of this year, marking the first quarter of net inflows since 2015, the company said in a statement Wednesday. While Och-Ziff’s flagship multistrategy fund continued to have withdrawals, losing about $552 million, they were offset by $1 billion of inflows to the firm’s Institutional Credit Strategies from newly-issued collateralized loan obligations.
Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com
Point72’s Human Resources Chief Leaves Cohen’s Hedge Fund Firm (Bloomberg)
Point72 Asset Management’s head of human resources Mike Butler is leaving Steven Cohen’s hedge fund firm. Butler joined Point72 in 2014 from outside the finance industry. During his tenure at the firm, Butler was responsible for bringing on key senior executives, vetting new hires and leading the firm’s employee survey. In a statement provided to Bloomberg News on Wednesday, Point72 thanked Butler for his service. “Mike led the modernization of the human capital team at Point72,” the firm said. “He has been a person of high integrity who has been passionate about improving the firm.”
Why Hedge Funds Still Top Smart Beta Funds (Forbes)
It seems the annual rite of spring-the fresh launches of smart beta exchange-traded funds that seek to replicate the returns of equity hedge funds. Smart beta ETFs are indeed raking in assets in the U.S.-according to Bloomberg Intelligence, $319 billion 2013 through Q1 2018, versus $128 billion from 2006 to 2012. Unfortunately, many of these smart beta funds promise and only disappoint-for they lack the art of hedge fund investing by missing one essential truth-you don’t want just the “average” hedge fund returns provided by the smart beta approach.
Insider Selling: United Cannabis (CNAB) VP Sells 12,262 Shares of Stock (TheLincolnianOnline.com)
United Cannabis Corp (OTCMKTS:CNAB) VP Tony Verzura sold 12,262 shares of United Cannabis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.24, for a total value of $15,204.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Insider Buying: Cypress Semiconductor Co. (CY) CEO Purchases 10,000 Shares of Stock (RegistrarJournal.com)
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:CY) CEO Hassane El-Khoury purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.03 per share, with a total value of $150,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 310,349 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,545.47. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC.
Insider Selling: At Home (NYSE:HOME) CFO Sells 187,882 Shares of Stock (TheLincolnianOnline.com)
At Home Group Inc (NYSE:HOME) CFO Judd T. Nystrom sold 187,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.84, for a total transaction of $6,545,808.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Insider Selling: Evolution Petroleum Co., Inc. (EPM) CFO Sells 13,278 Shares of Stock (LedgerGazette.com)
Evolution Petroleum Co., Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:EPM) CFO David Joe sold 13,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.45, for a total value of $112,199.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 317,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,685,663.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
Insider Buying: Surface Oncology Inc (SURF) Major Shareholder Buys 266,000 Shares of Stock (RegistrarJournal.com)
Surface Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:SURF) major shareholder Lilly Ventures Fund I. Llc bought 266,000 shares of Surface Oncology stock in a transaction on Monday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,990,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
Insider Selling: Weight Watchers (WTW) Insider Sells 12,573 Shares of Stock (StockNewsTimes.com)
Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) insider Corinne Pollier-Bousquet sold 12,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $880,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,670,220. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
