Activist Investor Calls on Peloton to Fire Its CEO (The Wall Street Journal)
An activist investor wants Peloton Interactive Inc. to fire its chief executive and explore a sale after the stationary-bike maker’s stock plummeted more than 80% from its high, as growth slowed. Blackwells Capital LLC is pushing the company’s board to fire CEO John Foley and pursue a sale, according to a letter Blackwells made public Monday. The firm believes Peloton could be an attractive acquisition target for larger technology or fitness-oriented companies, according to the letter.
Kohl’s Receives $9 Billion Offer Backed by Activist Investor (The New York Times)
The department store Kohl’s has received a roughly $9 billion offer to go private in a deal with an investment consortium backed by the activist hedge fund Starboard Value, according to two people familiar with the matter. The offer highlights the resurgent interest that activist investors are showing in department stores, as brick-and-mortar retailers have struggled with supply chain issues in the pandemic and increasing competition from online sites. Shares of retailers have been under pressure for the past several years, while those of online sites have, until recently, been soaring.
Fed Hikes Won’t Make Cash or Bonds Attractive: Ray Dalio (Fortune India)
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to increase interest rates is unlikely to make cash or bonds attractive to own, says Ray Dalio, co-chairman and co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund with over $105 billion in assets, in an exclusive interview with Fortune India. With consumer price inflation close to a four-decade high of 7%, the Fed in its December meeting announced that it would wind down its quantitative easing programme (bond purchases) by March.
A Decent Year for Hedge Funds Is Still Not Good Enough (Bloomberg Quint)
(Bloomberg Opinion) — There’s good news and bad news in last year’s hedge fund numbers. While the industry has recovered some of its swagger, its performance continues to suggest that active portfolio managers aren’t living up to their promise to outpace passive returns, even during bouts of market volatility. The industry can point to its highest average returns since at least 2014 and the fresh cash being allocated to firms by investors. Skeptics will note that customers would have made more money buying a low-cost equity index tracker tied to the benchmark U.S. stock index. I count myself in the latter camp.
Hedge Fund Managers Look Forward to Favorable 2022 Market Conditions (Pensions & Investments)
Hedge fund managers anticipate plentiful investment opportunities in 2022 given pandemic-driven global turmoil, the specter of rising inflation and the impact of central bank actions. Unsettled market conditions likely will lead to a higher level of dispersion in markets, which is exactly what hedge fund managers need to produce alpha, sources said.
Monday 1/24 Insider Buying Report: ORCL, CNXC (Nasdaq.com)
At Oracle, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Thursday, Director Charles W. Moorman bought 15,000 shares of ORCL, at a cost of $83.76 each, for a total investment of $1.26M. Investors are able to buy ORCL even cheaper than Moorman did, with the stock trading as low as $80.38 at last check today — that’s 4.0% under Moorman’s purchase price. Oracle is trading down about 1.8% on the day Monday. This purchase marks the first one filed by Moorman in the past twelve months. And at Concentrix, there was insider buying on Friday, by Director Kathryn Hayley who purchased 600 shares for a cost of $171.55 each, for a total investment of $102,930. Concentrix is trading down about 2.8% on the day Monday. Bargain hunters have the opportunity to bag CNXC at a price even lower than Hayley did, with shares changing hands as low as $164.46 at last check today — that’s 4.1% under Hayley’s purchase price.
Insider Trading: January 24, 2022 (BIV.com)
Insider Bharat Bhushan, director. Company: Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. (CNSX:DOCT). Shares owned: 3,000,000. Trade date: January 10. Trade total: $24,000. Trade: Sale of 400,000 shares at a price of $0.05 to $0.07 per share. Insider Frank Stephen Borowicz, director. Company: Hemisphere Energy Corp. (TSX-V:HME). Shares owned: 587,500. Trade date: January 6, 7. Trade total: $451,502. Trade: Sale of 451,500 shares at prices from $1.00 to $1.01 per share.
