Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Carl Icahn, Elliott Management, Avon Products Inc (AVP), Crimson Wine Group Ltd (CWGL), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), and More

Herbalife Sinks After Largest Shareholder Carl Icahn Cashes out a Chunk of his Holdings (HLF) (Business Insider)
Carl Icahn is inching his way out of his Herbalife position. The activist hedge fund billionaire’s firm, Icahn Enterprises, said in a filing on Friday that it was tendering up to 11.4 million of the company’s shares. That marks a roughly 25% divestiture of the 45.7 million shares the firm currently owns, although it remains the largest shareholder. Herbalife’s stock tumbled on the news, falling as much as 8%. Shares are still up 49% for the year.

Elliott Management Cuts Stake in NXP Semiconductors (Barron’s)
Hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday that it reduced its overall stake in NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) to 4.95% as of May 22. Elliott had held a 7.1% stake as of Feb. 16. Elliott had pushed for a higher acquisition price for NXP from Qualcomm (QCOM), and in February, Qualcomm increased its bid. At the time Broadcom (AVGO) had warned against such a move, saying it could jeopardize Broadcom’s own bid for Qualcomm. Broadcom’s bid is moot now, of course, after the U.S. blocked the deal.

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Ray Dalio Releases “Principles for Success” As An Animated Series (Investopedia.com)
Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the best performing hedge funds in history, has been devoting the last several years to his philanthropic efforts and to sharing the knowledge he has accumulated through 50 years of investing. His best-selling book, “Principles”, revealed the management and investing principles he learned and evangelized at Bridgewater as he grew it into a $160 billion hedge fund. Dalio has been ubiquitous this past year promoting the book, sharing his life-lessons, giving TED talks, appearing at the World Economic Forum, popping up on business news TV programs, and even stopping by our offices for a visit.

Hedge Funds Raise Bets Against Italy, Bond Yields Soar (The Wall Street Journal)
As hedge funds scour the globe for weak spots in what have been mainly placid markets, Italy is becoming a prime target. Bets by hedge fund against Italian bonds have risen to levels not seen since the financial crisis, in a reminder of latent risks in the eurozone. Bets have mounted throughout the year, with the trend accelerating in recent days, on fears that Italy’s likely new antiestablishment coalition government will add to the country’s large debt pile and potentially loosen ties with the European Union.