Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Michael Novogratz, Bill Ackman, Algebris Investments, salesforce.com, inc. (CRM), Gold Fields (GFIOF), and More

‘Get on the Train’: Famed Investor Michael Novogratz Says Bitcoin will Soon Break the $10,000 Threshold as US Turmoil Spreads (BTCUSD) (Business Insider)
Longtime bitcoin bull Michael Novogratz of Galaxy Digital tweeted on Monday that bitcoin will soon take out the $10,000 resistance level and traders should get on board. “$BTC is coiling. It will take out 10k soon. All the tragic turmoil in the USA adds to the narrative. Budgets are going one way and it’s the opposite of balanced. When 10k goes it will move fast. Get on the train,” Novogratz tweeted. A few hours after the tweet, bitcoin did in fact break above $10,000.

Bill Ackman poised to enter FTSE 100 After Pershing Square’s 26% Crisis Gain (Citywire.co.uk)
Pershing Square Holdings (PSH), the investment company investing in Bill Ackman’s long-only hedge fund, is poised to join the FTSE 100 after powering ahead this year on the back of a single trade that saw it book a $2.1bn profit in March’s market turmoil. Analysts at broker JPMorgan Cazenove identified PSH as one of a number of investment companies that could move up and down the ranks in the FTSE’s quarterly reshuffle, which will be announced tomorrow on the basis of prices at the close of trading today and come into effect when the market opens on 22 June.

A Hedge-Fund Manager Finally Unloaded his Hamptons Mansion — for Half of Its Asking Price. Take a Look Inside the Beachfront Home. (Business Insider)
Hedge-fund manager Barry Rosenstein just sold his Hamptons beach house at half the price it was listed for. The 13,000-plus square-foot home went on the market in 2018 for $70 million, The New York Post reported, and finally sold for $35.75 million two years later. But he still made a profit from it: Rosenstein first purchased the home for $19.2 million in 2005, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Insider Trading Wall Street Trader Panic

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Algebris Credit Hedge Fund Targets Stressed Debt Opportunities, as Winners and Losers Emerge from Covid-19 Lockdown (Hedge Week)
Algebris Investments, a London-based multi-strategy credit and equities-focused hedge fund manager, is staking out alpha opportunities across a range of stressed credits which stand to gain from a resumption in activity post-lockdown. While government support has sent indices and investment grade assets soaring, high yield and off-benchmark assets remain dislocated, underpricing the potential for a recovery, said portfolio manager Alberto Gallo, Algebris’ head of macro strategies.

Pfizer to Start $500M Biotech Hedge Fund (BeckersHospitalReview.com)
Pfizer is launching a hedge fund that will funnel $500 million into biotech companies, according to a June 2 news release from the pharma giant. The hedge fund, named the Pfizer Breakthrough Growth Initiative, seeks to pursue new partnerships by funding biotech companies’ research, manufacturing and growth. Pfizer’s chief business officer, John Young, noted the need to invest in new therapies amid the pandemic. “There has never been a more important moment to pursue new collaborations in our industry,” he said in the press release.

Insurers’ Pullback from Hedge Fund Investments Continues for a Fourth-Straight Year (Opalesque.com)
U.S. insurers for a fourth straight year reduced their hedge fund investments, to $12 billion in 2019 from $25 billion in 2015. According to a report by A.M. Best Company, hedge fund holdings went from 1,500 positions to about 900. Only 10% of A.M.Best’s rated universe invests in hedge funds. Long/short equity dropped by $2 billion and multi-strategy dropped by $600 million in 2019, said the U.S.-based credit rating agency for the insurance industry. Jason Hopper, the associate director, AM Best, addressed why the industry has reduced its hedge fund holdings: “Over the years, hedge funds have become a little less attractive compared with some other investments, given the returns.” “Returns haven’t been favorable enough to meet the high fees, as well as the regulatory capital stream imposed by capital charges. … Not only is book adjusted carrying value declining, but the number of holdings has declined as well,” he added.

Hedge Fund Investing Isn’t Just for the Rich. How Regular Folks Can Try It. (Barron’s)
There is a little corner of the insurance market that isn’t for the faint of heart. Incredibly cheap and equally risky, it is a form of hedge fund investing for the masses. Alternative reinsurance is the area. And Greenlight Capital Reinsurance (ticker: GLRE) and Third Point Reinsurance (TPRE) are two of the players. The stocks represent a leveraged bet on the performance of some of the world’s most famous hedge funds, but investors who don’t want to put cash at risk can benefit too.

Tuesday 6/2 Insider Buying Report: MIDD, SFE (Nasdaq.com)
At Middleby, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Friday, Director Robert A. Nerbonne purchased 2,700 shares of MIDD, for a cost of $68.12 each, for a total investment of $183,932. Nerbonne was up about 10.7% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with MIDD trading as high as $75.42 at last check today. Middleby is trading up about 1.1% on the day Tuesday. Before this latest buy, Nerbonne bought MIDD at 9 other times during the past year, for a total investment of $704,258 at an average of $76.18 per share. And on Monday, Director Joseph M. Manko Jr. bought $108,319 worth of Safeguard Scientifics, buying 16,927 shares at a cost of $6.40 a piece. Before this latest buy, Manko Jr. bought SFE on 2 other occasions during the past year, for a total investment of $373,776 at an average of $6.65 per share. Safeguard Scientifics is trading up about 8.4% on the day Tuesday. So far Manko Jr. is in the green, up about 9.8% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $7.03.

Salesforce.com Inc (CRM) Chair of the Board & CEO Marc Benioff Sold $3.5 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chair of the Board & CEO of Salesforce.com Inc., Marc Benioff, sold 20,000 shares of CRM on 06/01/2020 at an average price of $174.21 a share. The total sale was $3.5 million. Salesforce.com Inc is a software-as-a-service company that provides enterprise cloud computing solutions, offering social and mobile cloud apps and platform services, as well as professional services to facilitate the adoption of its solutions.

The Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields (Other OTC: GFIOF) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, the Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields (GFIOF), Nicholas J Holland, sold shares of GFIOF for $2.77M. Following Nicholas J Holland’s last GFIOF Sell transaction on March 04, 2020, the stock climbed by 1.5%.