Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Catherine Wood, Dan Loeb, Ray Dalio, Millennium Management, Chessica LP, Incyte Corporation (INCY), Verastem, Inc. (VSTM), and More

Billionaire Investor Ray Dalio Says Fed Hikes Won’t Derail the Economy But are Likely to Hit ‘Bubble-Type’ Tech Stocks (Business Insider)
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has said the Federal Reserve’s tightening of monetary policy in 2022 shouldn’t derail the economic expansion, but is likely to weigh heavily on “bubble-type” tech stocks. The Fed has signaled that it plans to hike interest rates this year as it tackles the strongest inflation in 39 years.

Hedge Fund Millennium to Expand in Paris With New Office for 100 Employees (Bloomberg)
Millennium Management has taken a lease in central Paris in a bid to expand its presence in the French capital. The hedge fund has struck a deal to rent the building located at 22 Rue Bayard, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The investment firm can house as many as 100 staff in the new office, which is expected to open in the second quarter, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. Millennium recently hired Bruno Benoit, former Societe Generale SA co-head of fixed income and currencies, to lead its expansion in the city.

Staude Capital Accuses Dan Loeb’s Third Point of ‘Trumpian Theatre’ (Standard.co.uk)
Miles Staude is the second shareholder to publicly criticise management of Third Point Investors, which is a feeder fund for Loeb’s US hedge fund. An extraordinary row between Third Point Investors and disgruntled shareholders escalated today as a second backer broke cover to blast management. Miles Staude of Staude Capital published an open letter to fellow shareholders accusing Third Point of “Trumpian theatre” and slack corporate governance. He has been lobbying behind the scenes for months.

10 best cheap stocks to invest in February 2021

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Ex-Elliot and Indaba Duo to Launch Activist Hedge Fund (Hedge Week)
Adam Katz, a former Elliot Investment Management executive, and Andy Dodge – ex-Induba Capital Management – to launch a mid-cap focused activist hedge fund according to Bloomberg. Capital-riaisng is said to be already underway for the new fund, which will be called Irenic Capital, with US250 million having been raised so far, including USD150 million commitent from the Fribourg family, owners of Continental Grain Co.

Chess Masters’ Hedge Fund Up 19% in 2021 (Opalesque)
Chessica LP, a market-neutral hedge fund, may have changed hands a few times but it is still thriving with annualised returns of 11.8% since its early-2010 inception. “The strategy is based on the concept of Delta Neutral*,” explains Alex Rabinovich, managing director of Chessica Management Group, LLC. “We trade options and exploit inefficiencies in the major indexes option structures. Since most of the time we don’t know where the market is going, it is easier to remain neutral. The key is to hedge and adjust as the market fluctuates. The strategy is supposed to outperform the hedge fund index in bull, bear, or idle markets, based on the design. We had some small bumps in 2021, but overall the market and the strategy were in our favour.”

Chinese Hedge Fund Responds to Investor Ire After 34% Loss (Bloomberg)
Chinese asset manager Loyal Valley Capital Co. responded to pushback from clients who lost a third of their money on a product last year, as the 70 billion yuan ($11 billion) manager became the latest target of investor ire. One of the firm’s hedge funds allegedly deviated from its theme of tech- and consumer-stocks, while repeated requests for dialogue with fund manager and founder Lin Lijun were rejected as losses mounted, local media reported, citing a letter from an unnamed group of investors addressed to the nation’s securities regulators.

GameStop, Cathie Wood, Jobs Friday – 5 Things You Must Know (The Street)
GameStop shares march higher on NFT plans, Cathie Wood‘s ARK Innovation fund gets slammed by tech’s about-face, and Wall Street awaits December’s jobs report. Here are five things you must know for Friday January 7: 1. – Stocks Point to Higher Open Ahead of Jobs Report: U.S. stock futures were pointing to a slightly higher open early Friday morning ahead of a key U.S. employment report that is expected to show additional job growth in December, despite the surging omicron variant.

Friends With Ties to Boards of Designer Brands, Albertsons Charged in Insider Trading Ring (The Wall Street Journal)
WASHINGTON — Three friends tapped family ties to the boards of public companies including Designer Brands Inc. and Albertsons Cos. to get tips that gained them at least $4 million in illicit trading profits, according to law-enforcement officials. Two of the men – hedge-fund manager Kris Bortnovsky and fintech entrepreneur Ryan Shapiro – were indicted Thursday in Boston and charged with securities fraud and conspiracy. The third trader, David Schottenstein, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, according to court records.

The EVP & Group President of Navient (NASDAQ: NAVI) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
On January 5, the EVP & Group President of Navient (NAVI), John M. Kane, sold shares of NAVI for $439K. Based on Navient’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending September 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $514 million and quarterly net profit of $173 million.

This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) (Nasdaq.com)
We note that the Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) CEO & Director, Brian Stuglik, recently sold US$53k worth of stock for US$2.05 per share. However we note that the sale only shrunk their holding by 2.2%. The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Verastem: Notably, that recent sale by Brian Stuglik is the biggest insider sale of Verastem shares that we’ve seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$1.93. We generally don’t like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it’s not too bad (but it’s still not a positive).

The EVP HR of Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
On January 5, the EVP HR of Incyte (INCY), Paula Swain, sold shares of INCY for $684.6K. In addition to Paula Swain, one other INCY executive reported Sell trades in the last month. Based on Incyte’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending September 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $813 million and quarterly net profit of $182 million.