Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Elliott Management, Millennium Management, Lawson Products, Inc. (LAWS), Prospect Capital Co. (PSEC), Blueprint Medicines Corp (BPMC), and More

Elliott Management Supports Hess Buyback on Eve of Proxy Deadline (Reuters)
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Elliott Management pulled back from efforts to call for substantial changes at oil company Hess Corp on Thursday on the eve of the deadline to nominate directors for the company’s board. Elliott said it supported Hess’s $1 billion share buyback program announced earlier Thursday and the company’s planned operating review. Elliott, the activist hedge fund led by billionaire Paul Singer, previously called for changes at Hess Corp in a heated 2013 proxy fight. At that time Hess conceded to an agreement that added three Elliott appointees to the board.

$35 Billion Hedge Fund Millennium Management has Hired a Top Trader from Citigroup (Business Insider)
Millennium Management, the $35.7 billion hedge fund giant, has hired a top trader away from Citigroup. Sebastian Ridd, head of program trading and cash trading in the US at Citigroup, left the firm in recent weeks and is headed to the hedge fund, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s the second recent senior departure from Citi’s stock trading department. Last week, global head of cash trading Armando Diaz left the firm. Diaz had joined Citigroup from Millennium in 2016. At Millennium, Ridd’s new role will entail working on the firm’s central risk desk, according to people familiar with the matter. Central risk operations serve as internal clearinghouses of sorts for trading firms to ensure they’re buying, selling, and hedging their trades efficiently.

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China will Win Global Trade War: Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Michael Hintze (AFR.com)
Billionaire hedge fund manager Sir Michael Hintze is betting that China will be the big winner of a global trade war, despite United States President Donald Trump targeting China with his steel tariffs. The 64-year-old founder of the $20 billion asset manager CQS, ranked 24th on The Financial Review Rich List with personal wealth of $1.98 billion, makes a living investing on the fallout from big geopolitical events and says the potential of a global trade war “is causing markets to revalue where they are going”.

Hedge Fund Mojo Is Back With Investor Hopes at Six-Year High (Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) — Hedge funds on the heels of a surprisingly strong performance in 2017 are raising hopes for an encore. Investors expect their managers to return 8.5 percent in 2018, according to a Credit Suisse Group AG survey. That’s the most enthusiasm around the smart money since 2012, when global markets were rallying in recovery mode, benefiting from a massive injection of monetary stimulus. While real-money managers have attempted to curb expectations in a world of normalizing rates and increased volatility, hedge fund outlooks have brightened after surprising on the upside last year.

Insider Buying: Lawson Products, Inc. (LAWS) Major Shareholder Purchases 125,000 Shares of Stock (RegistrarJournal.com)
Lawson Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAWS) major shareholder Private Discipline Master Lkcm bought 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Insider Buying: Opko Health Inc. (OPK) CEO Buys 75,000 Shares of Stock (DispatchTribunal.com)
Opko Health Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost acquired 75,000 shares of Opko Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.29 per share, for a total transaction of $246,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,068,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,096,848.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Insider Buying: Prospect Capital Co. (PSEC) Insider Purchases 17,200 Shares of Stock (LedgerGazette.com)
Prospect Capital Co. (NASDAQ:PSEC) insider John F. Barry purchased 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.50 per share, with a total value of $111,800.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Insider Selling: Blueprint Medicines Corp (BPMC) CEO Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock (StockNewsTimes.com)
Blueprint Medicines Corp (NASDAQ:BPMC) CEO Jeffrey W. Albers sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $1,851,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,400. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC.

Insider Buying: Forum Energy Technologies Inc (FET) CEO Purchases $956,700.00 in Stock (RegistrarJournal.com)
Forum Energy Technologies Inc (NYSE:FET) CEO Prady Iyyanki acquired 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.63 per share, with a total value of $956,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 443,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,713,522.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Insider Buying: AlarmCom Hldg Inc (ALRM) Director Buys 10,000 Shares of Stock (WeekHerald.com)
AlarmCom Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:ALRM) Director Darius G. Nevin bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $37.21 per share, with a total value of $372,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,100. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC.