Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Daniel Loeb, Chris Rokos, Bill Ackman, Michael Burry, Jana Partners, Clarium Capital Management, Man Group, Black Stone Minerals LP (BSM), ModivCare Inc. (MODV), and More

Chris Rokos to Raise New $3 Billion After Hedge Fund Soars (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Chris Rokos is raising fresh capital as his macro hedge fund heads for a record year of gains. Rokos Capital Management has held talks with potential clients to grow his assets by as much as $3 billion through both new money and existing backers reinvesting their gains, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Lunch with Bill Ackman is Up for Auction – and with Bidding at $41,000, it’s a Bargain Compared with Warren Buffett’s $19 Million (Business Insider)
A private lunch with billionaire investor Bill Ackman is up for grabs in a charity auction — and as the top bid stands at $41,000 on Friday, it looks to be a steal compared with a steak meal with Warren Buffett that sold for $19 million. Bidding closes Monday for the chance to eat with the Pershing Square CEO and a guest, with proceeds going to New York healthcare workers, police, firefighters and military veterans. Ackman will match the winning amount, according to auction’s beneficiary, the David Lynch Foundation.

Dan Loeb Targets Bath & Body Works. Activists Haven’t Had a Good Year in Retail (Barron’s)
Bath & Body Works stock is heading higher early Friday, on news an activist shareholder is pushing for changes. But if the past year in retail is any indication, investors shouldn’t get too excited. After the close of regular trading Thursday, Third Point, helmed by Daniel Loeb, said it now owns just over a 6% stake in Bath & Body Works (ticker: BBWI). That equates to 13.75 million shares, building on a position the firm had initiated in the third quarter, a nearly $525 million bet.

Covalis Capital's Returns, AUM and Holdings

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Jana Ratchets Up Pressure on Freshpet, Recruits Schmidt to Campaign (Reuters)
The activist investor pushing Freshpet Inc to consider selling itself is ratcheting up the pressure on the pet-food company by recruiting industry expert Kurt Schmidt to help with its campaign and possibly serve as director candidate, people familiar with the matter said. Jana Partners LLC, which reported owning a 9.9% stake in September, recently added Schmidt to a group of advisers that also includes a former Kraft Foods chief financial officer and a former chief executive officer at Jarden Corp, said the sources, who were not permitted to speak publicly on the private matter.

Peter Thiel’s Money Manager Hunts ‘Next PayPal’ For His Own Firm (FA-Mag.com)
Jack Selby was one of PayPal Holdings Inc.’s first employees and, after the payments company was sold, started hedge fund Clarium Capital Management with Peter Thiel. He later helped manage Thiel Capital, the billionaire’s family office. Now Selby is branching out with his own investment fund focused on technology companies in Arizona, where he spent part of his youth and returned to after EBay Inc. bought PayPal for $1.5 billion two decades ago.

Michael Burry Deletes Twitter Account Despite Saying Elon Musk has His ‘Trust’ (New York Post)
Famed hedge fund boss Michael Burry appears to have deleted his Twitter account this week, just hours after he praised Elon Musk’s leadership of the revamped social media site. The @michaeljburry Twitter handle displayed a message that read “this account doesn’t exist” as of early Friday afternoon, signaling Burry had either deactivated or deleted the account. Multiple “tracker” accounts dedicated to following Burry’s feed also noted it was taken offline.

Maitri Capital Launches Web3 FCA-Regulated Hedge Funds (Hedge Week)
Maitri Capital, an FCA-regulated hedge fund firm, has launched two Web3 and digital assets market funds, which will look to make investments in a diverse portfolio of asset classes. The first fund will target investments in both locked and unlocked tokens, equity, staking programmes and liquid tokens, while the second fund will focus on backing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralised finance (DeFi), and metaverse projects, as part of a portfolio diversification strategy.

Hedge Fund Giant Man Group Reveals Second $125m Buyback Scheme This Year Amidst Greater Market Volatility (This is Money)
Investment firm Man Group has brushed aside heightened economic uncertainty to announce its second share buyback programme of up to $125 million this year. The world’s largest listed hedge fund manager said the measure was in line with its policy to hand capital to investors ‘while maintaining a prudent balance sheet.’ This latest buyback will run for the next 12 months from today and operate alongside a similarly-sized share repurchase scheme, which is set to conclude in June 2023.

Friday 12/9 Insider Buying Report: BSM, COIN (Nasdaq.com)
On Thursday, Black Stone Minerals’ CEO and Chairman, Thomas L. Carter Jr., made a $838,874 purchase of BSM, buying 48,492 shares at a cost of $17.30 each. Black Stone Minerals LP is trading up about 2.1% on the day Friday. Before this latest buy, Carter Jr. bought BSM on 4 other occasions during the past year, for a total investment of $3.34M at an average of $16.71 per share. And on Tuesday, Director Tobias Lutke purchased $742,514 worth of Coinbase Global, purchasing 16,747 shares at a cost of $44.34 each. Before this latest buy, Lutke purchased COIN on 16 other occasions during the past twelve months, for a total investment of $5.98M at an average of $66.12 per share. Coinbase Global is trading down about 3% on the day Friday. Investors can snag COIN at a price even lower than Lutke did, with the stock trading as low as $40.89 in trading on Friday — that’s 7.8% under Lutke’s purchase price.

Over $3 Million Bet On G-III Apparel? Check Out These 3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
G-III Apparel Group: The Trade: G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (GIII) CEO Morris Goldfarb bought a total of 250,000 shares at an average price of $12.54. To acquire these shares, it cost around $3.13 million. ModivCare: The Trade: ModivCare Inc. (MODV) Director Adam Gray acquired a total of 90,743 shares at an average price of $76.09. To acquire these shares, it cost around $6.9 million.