Bridgewater, RenTech Make $13 Billion in a Grim Year for Hedge Funds (Bloomberg)
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates and Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies beat their rivals in a tough year for hedge funds in 2018, making a combined $13 billion for their investors. The profits accounted for more than half the money generated by the top 20 managers last year, according to estimates by LCH Investments NV, a fund of hedge funds. Firms outside that top group lost more than $64 billion as stock declines and volatility took their toll.
How Warren Buffett Honored Jack Bogle’s Surprising Legacy (Forbes)
Jack Bogle was the entrepreneur-founder of Vanguard, now the largest mutual fund in the world boasting $4.5 trillion in assets. He died on January 16 at age 89. Bogle was iconic, fierce, and just about the straightest shooter on Wall Street. He was called a Titan of Industry and is remembered not only for promoting basic values like service, candor and stewardship, but also for practicing them.
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Rethinking General Electric (Seeking Alpha)
Last month, I noted that the cost of hedging General Electric was prohibitively high, and that high hedging cost can be a red flag. I was prompted to take a second look at that after hedge fund manager Josh Friedman argued General Electric’s equity was more interesting to him than its debt. The drop in General Electric’s hedging cost since December is consistent with Friedman’s assessment of General Electric: it’s still risky, but some of the gloom seems to have lifted.
Pension Agency Criticizes Sears Chairman Edward Lampert’s Plan to Buy Bankrupt Retailer (ChicagoTribune)
The federal agency preparing to take over Sears’ pension plans is opposing Sears chairman Edward Lampert’s plan to buy the retailer out of bankruptcy. Lampert’s $5.2 billion bid to buy the Hoffman Estates-based retailer’s 425 stores seeks to keep the company in business and says it will preserve 45,000 jobs. A committee of Sears’ unsecured creditors on Monday filed an objection to the proposed sale to Lampert.
Polaris Capital Management LLC Lifted Holding in Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) (REurope.com)
Polaris Capital Management Llc increased its stake in Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) by 9% based on its latest 2018Q3 regulatory filing with the SEC. Polaris Capital Management Llc bought 817,964 shares as the company’s stock declined 12.44% with the market. The hedge fund held 9.91 million shares of the major pharmaceuticals company at the end of 2018Q3, valued at $213.48M, up from 9.09 million at the end of the previous reported quarter.
UnitedHealth, Morgan Stanley Are Among Stocks With Crazy Insider Activity (TheStreet)
Actions speak louder than words, as the saying goes. And when it comes to insiders, that certainly seems to be the case. If we track informative insider transactions, we can get a good idea of the stocks that insiders see as compelling investing opportunities right now as well as the stocks insiders are less convinced about. This matters because insiders have access to a wealth of company information and insights. As a result, the timing of these transactions can provide a critical insight into how these insiders see the company performing.
Monday 1/28 Insider Buying Report: BLPH, MMLP (Nasdaq.com)
Bargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned cash to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today we look at two noteworthy recent insider buys. On Friday, Bellerophon Therapeutics (BLPH)’s Director, Naseem Amin, made a $400,000 purchase of BLPH, buying 571,429 shares at a cost of $0.70 each. Bellerophon Therapeutics is trading up about 4.6% on the day Monday. This purchase marks the first one filed by Amin in the past year.
Insider Buys Of The Week: GTT Communications, Dish Network, Heico (Benzinga)
Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10 percent owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason — they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly during periods of uncertainty. Here’s a look at a few notable insider purchases reported in the past week. GTT Communications: Beneficial owner Spruce House Partnership added to its GTT Communications Inc GTT 0.27% stake again last week. The 229,000 shares purchased, at $27.46 to $29.40, came to more than $6.42 million altogether. The private investment fund’s stake was said to be around 12.22 million shares, while about 50.66 million shares were outstanding.
Monday’s Insider Report: CEO Invests Over $170,000 in This Beaten-down Dividend Stock (TheGlobeandMail)
Featured below are companies that have experienced recent insider trading activity in the public market through their direct and indirect ownerships, including accounts they have control or direction over. The list features insider transaction activity; it does not convey total ownership information as an insider may hold numerous accounts. Keep in mind, when looking at transaction activities by insiders, purchasing activity may reflect perceived value in a security. Selling activity may or may not be related to a stock’s valuation; perhaps an insider needs to raise money for personal reasons. An insider’s total holdings should be considered because a sale may, in context, be insignificant if this person has a large remaining position in the company.
Have Insiders Been Selling Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE:CXO) Shares? (Simply Wall St.)
We’ve lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE:CXO), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
