Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Leon Cooperman, Daniel Loeb, Ken Griffin, Vonage Holdings Corp. (VG), A-Mark Precious Metals (AMRK), and More

Leon Cooperman is Converting His Hedge Fund Into a Family Office: ‘I Don’t Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Chasing the S&P 500’ (CNBC)
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Leon Cooperman is returning outside investor capital at year-end. Omega Advisors is converting to a family office at the end of 2018, according to an investor letter obtained by CNBC. “I turned 75 last April. It is my understanding that if you make it past 65 and cancer doesn’t get you, you can expect to live on average to 85. Hopefully, I can improve on that average, but in any event I don’t want to spend the rest of my life chasing the S&P 500 and focused on generating returns on investor capital,” Cooperman said in the note to clients Monday.

Daniel Loeb’s Third Point Unveils New Position in PayPal, Says it Could be Next Netflix, Amazon (CNBC)
Third Point hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb revealed in an investor letter that his fund has new position in PayPal. The firm added the position in the second quarter, according to an investor letter obtained by CNBC. “Consumers love PayPal because it enables hassle‐free, one‐touch checkout across millions of online merchants,” Loeb said in the note to clients Monday. “We see parallels between PayPal and other best‐in‐class internet platforms like Netflix and Amazon: high and rising market share, untapped pricing power, and significant margin expansion potential.”

Wall Street Stocks Market Insider Trading

Rawpixel / shutterstock.com

Blue States Must Cut Taxes or Face a Population Drop, Says Citadel’s Ken Griffin (CNBC)
Citadel’s Ken Griffin predicts northern states that predominantly support the Democratic Party will be negatively impacted by President Donald Trump’s tax plan. “Under Trump’s tax proposal the elimination of state and local deductibility is going to put pressure on the northern cities to either reduce taxes or they are going to face a reduction in population,” Griffin said at the Delivering Alpha Conference in New York last week. “In the next five to ten years we’ve got to deal with the pressures on the blue states to be competitive with the southern states to maintain strong workforces, strong employment bases in the northern half of our country.”

REFILE-Hedge Fund Caius Says Disappointed with EBA View of UniCredit Capital (Reuters)
LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) – London-based hedge fund Caius Capital on Monday said it was disappointed with the European Banking Authority’s rejection of its request to look into a complex debt instrument used by UniCredit that the fund said was wrongly classified as core capital. Caius in May asked the EBA to investigate the 2.98 billion euro ($3.49 billion) convertible and subordinated bond, known as CASHES, which was issued in 2008.

Insider Selling: Vonage Holdings Corp. (VG) Director Sells 500,000 Shares of Stock (WeekHerald.com)
Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE:VG) Director Jeffrey A. Citron sold 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.26, for a total transaction of $6,630,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,250,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,445,395.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Insider Buying: A-Mark Precious Metals (AMRK) Major Shareholder Purchases 20,000 Shares of Stock (LedgerGazette.com)
A-Mark Precious Metals (NASDAQ:AMRK) major shareholder William A. Richardson bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.50 per share, with a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 253,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,172,375. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Insider Buying: Christopher & Banks Co. (CBK) Director Acquires 22,000 Shares of Stock (MaconDaily.com)
Christopher & Banks Co. (NYSE:CBK) Director Jonathan Duskin purchased 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.07 per share, with a total value of $23,540.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Insider Buying: Strongbridge Biopharma plc (SBBP) Major Shareholder Purchases 11,200 Shares of Stock (WeekHerald.com)
Strongbridge Biopharma PLC (NASDAQ:SBBP) major shareholder Associates L.L.C. Cdk bought 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.97 per share, for a total transaction of $55,664.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC.

Insider Buying: Otelco Inc (OTEL) Major Shareholder Acquires $241,992.28 in Stock (PressOracle.com)
Otelco Inc (NASDAQ:OTEL) major shareholder Ira Sochet purchased 16,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.89 per share, with a total value of $241,992.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.