Here’s Why Carl Icahn Thinks Apple Will Surge To $240 Per Share (Bloomberg)
Carl Icahn is out with a new letter to Tim Cook arguing that Apple should buy back more shares and that the stock is grossly undervalued. He says it should be worth $240/share. That’s up dramatically from the $130.50 level it trades at today. First, here’s Icahn’s core argument for why the stock could be worth that much: After reflecting upon Apple’s tremendous success, we now believe Apple shares are worth $240 today.
Cohen’s Point72 Buys Into Biggest U.S. Oil ETF Before Rebound (Bloomberg)
Point72 Asset Management, the investment firm that manages the wealth of billionaire trader Steve Cohen, bought shares of the biggest U.S. exchange-traded fund that tracks oil prices as crude sank to a six-year low. The firm bought 1.305 million shares of the U.S. Oil Fund valued at about $22 million in the three months through March 31, according to a quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released on May 15. That accounts for 1.05 percent of the shares outstanding at that time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Tiger Global to Revamp Management (The New York Times)
Tiger Global Management, which has risen to prominence by investing in start-ups, will change its leadership as two executives depart, the firm told investors in a letter on Monday. One of the firm’s investment heads, Feroz Dewan, will leave at the end of June to set up his own investment firm, according to the letter. Another partner, Caleb Watts, will also leave next month to focus on managing his fortune.
Top US Hedge Funds Continued To Dump Apple Amid Rally (CNBC)
Top U.S. hedge fund management firms, including Leon Cooperman‘s Omega Advisors and Philippe Laffont‘s Coatue Management, continued to reduce or slash stakes altogether in Apple during the first quarter, as shares of the iPhone maker rallied. According to regulatory filings released on Friday, Coatue cut its holding of Apple by selling 1.2 million shares during the first three months of this year, but it remains the fund’s single biggest U.S. stock investment, with 7.7 million shares.
Shares In FX Firm Plus500 Plunge As It Suspends Some Accounts (Reuters)
Shares in retail FX trading shop Plus500 shed around a third of their value on Monday after the firm, a sponsor of Spanish soccer team Atletico Madrid, said some clients’ accounts had been suspended as it sought to meet money laundering rules. London-based hedge fund Odey Asset Management is the top external shareholder in the firm with almost 13 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data, while JP Morgan Asset Management holds a 6 percent stake.
A $200 Million Hedge-Fund Trade In Your Bond ETF Is Normal Now (Bloomberg)
Don’t be surprised if you see a huge chunk of cash simply evaporate one day from your exchange-traded bond fund. There’s a good chance it’s just a hedge fund cashing in on a bet. An example of this can be found in BlackRock Inc.’s $5.1 billion long-term U.S. Treasuries ETF, which saw the greatest volume of withdrawals this year among similar funds. Among investors yanking cash was Passport Capital, the $4 billion hedge-fund firm run by John Burbank.
Greenlight Capital Takes $355 Million Stake In General Motors (The Wall Street Journal)
David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital Inc. hedge-fund firm bought a $355 million stake in General Motors during the first quarter, quickly making the automaker one of the firm’s five largest long positions, according to a quarterly filing. Mr. Einhorn, who manages about $12 billion in total, wrote to investors last month that he had “decided to take another drive” into General Motors, after holding an earlier stake for three years that he sold in early 2014. Now, he is sanguine on the company’s chances in Europe and believes low gas prices could stimulate demand for its sports utility vehicles and trucks.
Whale Watching: 8 Trades On Hedge-Fund Plays (CNBC)
Alibaba’s stock slide—partly reflected in some major hedge funds exiting positions—provides a strong entry point for investors, CNBC “Fast Money” traders said Friday. Dan Loeb’s Third Point Capital and John Paulson‘s Paulson and Co. both sold big Alibaba stakes in the first quarter, according to filings. The stock has fallen nearly 15 percent this year, driven down by disappointing fourth-quarter results.
Ackman’s Pershing Square Slashes Stake In Combined The Allergan/Actavis (The Wall Street Journal)
Pershing Square Capital Management LP sold down its position in the combined pharmaceutical companies Actavis PLC and Allergan Inc. after the activist failed to push Allergan into the deal it wanted last year. The activist fund run by William Ackman owned about 1.35 million shares of Actavis at the end of the first quarter, according to a filing Friday. Actavis closed its acquisition of the Botox maker on March 17.
Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management Increases Mondelez Stake (The Wall Street Journal)
Financier Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management LP continued to build its stake in Mondelez International Inc. and PepsiCo. Inc. in the first three months of the year, according to a securities filing Friday. Trian on disclosed it had increased its stake in Mondelez, spun off from Kraft Foods Group Inc. in 2012, to 48 million shares. Mr. Peltz was named to Mondelez’s board last year after criticizing that the snack maker had done too little to cut costs.
