Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Dan Loeb, Michael Platt, Rapid7 Inc (RPD), Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN), PHI Group, Inc. (PHIL), and More

‘There’s Finally an Alternative to Equities,’ Says Billionaire Fund Manager (MarketWatch)
The stock market’s main gauges will rack up weekly gains of 2% or more, if they can just make it through today’s session unscathed. They’ve got their swagger back, feeling good thanks to a tech rally. Facebook is fully recovered from that Cambridge Analytica brouhaha, and Apple’s up 15% this month. But should stocks slow their roll? Hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb doesn’t sound all that bullish, and he delivers our call of the day. “We aren’t in a time right now where you’re going to be rewarded for taking a lot of long-market-exposure risk,” the Third Point founder and CEO said yesterday during an earnings conference call.

Michael Platt Tops Sunday Times Hedge Fund Manager Rich List (HedgeWeek.com)
Michael Platt is the richest hedge fund manager in the City, according to the new edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, to be published this Sunday 13 May. The 160-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the wealth of the 1,000 richest people in Britain and is celebrating its 30th anniversary issue. Platt, who co-founded Belgravia-based BlueCrest Capital Management with William Reeves back in 2003, has seen his net wealth grow by 25 per cent in the past year to stand at GBP3 billion. In December 2015, BlueCrest announced it was returning USD7 billion of clients’ money to focus on managing the USD1 billion assets of Platt and his partners. That move went well with BlueCrest recording a 50 per cent gain in 2016 and reports suggesting that it saw another 54 per cent increase last year as well.

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Crispin Odey Back on Top with Returns of More than 17% (FNLondon.com)
Billionaire investor Crispin Odey is back among the world’s top-performing hedge fund managers in 2018, continuing his strong recovery from a sustained run of crippling losses. After three years of underperformance and outflows, the Odey European Fund has staged a turnaround, returning more than 17% in the four months to April 30, according to figures seen by Financial News. Returns of 4.5% last month alone mean it is now among the best-performing hedge funds in any strategy in 2018, according to a closely-followed industry ranking. Stock-picker Odey, who is famously bearish, has made gains as volatility has returned to markets this year.

Hedge Fund Caius Says Uncertainties Remain on UniCredit Notes (Reuters)
LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) – British hedge fund Caius Capital on Friday said “significant uncertainties” remained on the regulatory treatment of a complex financial instrument as UniCredit’s best-quality capital, in a letter to the bank’s CEO. Caius Capital asked UniCredit’s CEO for urgent clarification on previous regulatory approvals for its convertible and subordinated hybrid equity-linked securities, or CASHES, and publication of full terms and conditions of its usufruct agreement. The hedge fund on May 3 asked the European Banking Authority (EBA) to open an investigation into the 2.98 billion euro ($3.55 billion) convertible bond issues in 2008.

Insider Selling: Rapid7 (RPD) Chairman Sells $1,200,000.00 in Stock (RegistrarJournal.com)
Rapid7 Inc (NASDAQ:RPD) Chairman Alan Matthews sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC.

Insider Buying: Seattle Genetics (SGEN) Director Purchases $10,775,009.16 in Stock (WeekHerald.com)
Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) Director Bros. Advisors Lp Baker purchased 204,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.68 per share, with a total value of $10,775,009.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Insider Buying: Kayne Anderson MLP Investment (KYN) CEO Acquires $250,065.45 in Stock (LedgerGazette.com)
Kayne Anderson MLP Investment (NYSE:KYN) CEO Kevin S. Mccarthy acquired 14,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.53 per share, with a total value of $250,065.45. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 529,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,275,491.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC.

Insider Buying: PHI Group, Inc. (PHIL) CEO Buys 11,574,074 Shares of Stock (RegistrarJournal.com)
PHI Group, Inc. (OTCMKTS:PHIL) CEO Henry Fahman acquired 11,574,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $0.03 per share, with a total value of $347,222.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC.

Insider Selling: Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Insider Sells 75,000 Shares of Stock (LedgerGazette.com)
Fortive Corp (NYSE:FTV) insider James A. Lico sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.93, for a total transaction of $5,394,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 307,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,114,303.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Insider Selling: Kforce (KFRC) CEO Sells $640,400.00 in Stock (WeekHerald.com)
Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ:KFRC) CEO David L. Dunkel sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.02, for a total value of $640,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.