Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: David Einhorn, Leon Cooperman, Carl Icahn, Appian Corp (APPN), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF), and More

Hedge Fund Manager Betting Against Tesla Gets Box of Short Shorts from Elon Musk: ‘He is a Man of His Word!’ (CNBC)
Greenlight Capital president David Einhorn tweeted Friday he got the pairs of short shorts that fellow billionaire Elon Musk promised him last week. “I want to thank @elonmusk for the shorts. He is a man of his word!” Einhorn said in a tweet. Einhorn added a tongue-in-cheek comment that the shorts “did come with some manufacturing defects,” he said. The briefs battle royale began after Einhorn’s hedge fund said in a letter he was “happy that his Model S lease ended” and was replacing the car because of problems with the technology.

Leon Cooperman on Finding the Overlooked Investment (Podcast) (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg Opinion columnist Barry Ritholtz interviews hedge-fund manager Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors about the thrill of finding an attractive investment everyone else has overlooked. Cooperman, 75, is converting his fund into a family office before the end of this year. He is also a billionaire philanthropist, and a member to Warren Buffett’s and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge. He has committed to donating his fortune to charity during his lifetime.

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ISS Backs Cigna-Express Scripts Deal (The Wall Street Journal)
Carl Icahn’s effort to find enough allies to block Cigna Corp.’s $54 billion proposed purchase of pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. just got a little harder. Institutional Shareholder Services, one of two major proxy-advisory firms, is recommending shareholders of the health insurer and Express Scripts support the deal in a vote later this month, according to reports ISS clients received Friday that were viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Larry Robbins Diagnoses Carl Icahn With ‘Ackmania’ (DealBreaker.com)
“Sensationalist headlines and intentionally misleading assertions from those with conflicting interests and limited analysis should not carry more weight than balanced diligence,” Robbins said…. “We believe that Cigna shareholders, including Mr. Icahn, would be hard pressed to explain how saving customers and payors so much money is harmful to society and the communities they serve, and that perhaps Mr. Icahn has been misled by misinformation fed to him by analysts with short-term personal agendas,” Robbins said.