Valinor Management & Lee Cooperman Update dELiA's Stakes

David Gallo's hedge fund firm Valinor Management has filed an amended 13D and form 4 with the SEC regarding their stake in dELiA's (DLIA).  Per the filing, Valinor now owns 27.9% of the company with aggregate exposure to 24.8 million shares.

This marks an increase of over 18.2 million shares of common stock since the end of the first quarter.  Valinor automatically converted their Secured Convertible Notes into shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock.  The filing was made due to activity on June 17th.

The 13D notes that Valinor has nominated Seth Cohen to dELiA's board and he is now a director.  The hedge fund also has the right to nominate another individual to the board, but that person cannot be an employee of the fund.

Valinor originally started its dELiAs stake in October of 2013. 


Lee Cooperman Updates Stake Too

Omega Advisors' Lee Cooperman has also filed an amended 13G with the SEC regarding dELiA's too.  Lee has revealed he owns 11.42% of the company with over 8.5 million shares.

His stake is comprised of 3.75 million shares of common stock (issuable upon conversion of 30,000 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock).

A few months ago, we also highlighted that Tiger Global raised its dELiA's stake.

Per Google Finance, dELiAs is "a retail company comprised of two lifestyle brands primarily targeting teenage girls and young women. The Company generates revenue by selling predominantly to teenage consumers through direct mail catalogs, Websites and retail stores. It operates in dELiA*s brand. Through its e-commerce Webpages, catalogs and retail stores, dELiA*s (the brand) offers a variety of product categories to teenage girls to cater to an entire lifestyle. Through its catalogs and the e-commerce Webpages, it sells many name brand products along with its own brand products in key teenage spending categories. These products include apparel and accessories. Its mall-based dELiA*s specialty retail stores derive revenue primarily from the sale of apparel and accessories and, to a lesser extent, branded apparel to teenage girls. It operates in two segments: direct marketing and retail stores."

Valinor Boosts dELiA's Stake, Nominates Board Member: 13D Filing

David Gallo's hedge fund firm Valinor Management has just revealed an increased stake in dELiA's (DLIA).  Per a Form 3 and a 13D filed with the SEC, Valinor has revealed they own 18.7% of the company with aggregate exposure to over 14.3 million shares.

The Form 3 outlines that they own over 10.7 million shares of common stock.  They also own over 13.1 million shares worth of Series B convertible preferred stock as well.  The filings were made due to activity on February 18th and we flagged Valinor's original purchase of DLIA late last year. 

Valinor has also nominated Seth Cohen to the company's board of directors.  Prior to founding Valinor, Gallo worked at Roberto Mignone's Bridger Capital.

Numerous other hedge fund managers have been involved in this name as Lee Cooperman also reported a DLIA stake in November.  Whitney Tilson's Kase Capital had also previously been a big proponent of shares, but per his recent 13F filing, it looks like he exited the position in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Per Google Finance, dELiAs is "a retail company comprised of two lifestyle brands primarily targeting teenage girls and young women. The Company generates revenue by selling predominantly to teenage consumers through direct mail catalogs, Websites and retail stores. It operates in dELiA*s brand. Through its e-commerce Webpages, catalogs and retail stores, dELiA*s (the brand) offers a variety of product categories to teenage girls to cater to an entire lifestyle. Through its catalogs and the e-commerce Webpages, it sells many name brand products along with its own brand products in key teenage spending categories. These products include apparel and accessories. Its mall-based dELiA*s specialty retail stores derive revenue primarily from the sale of apparel and accessories and, to a lesser extent, branded apparel to teenage girls. It operates in two segments: direct marketing and retail stores." 

Valinor Management Starts dELiAs (DLIA) Stake

David Gallo's hedge fund firm Valinor Management just filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of dELiAs (DLIA).  Per the filing, the hedge fund has disclosed a 9.56% ownership stake in dELiAs (DLIA) with 6,571,429 shares.

This is a brand new position for Valinor and the filing was due to portfolio activity on October 24th.  Whitney Tilson's Kase Capital has also been involved with DLIA shares.

Per Google Finance, dELiAs is "a retail company comprised of two lifestyle brands primarily targeting teenage girls and young women. The Company generates revenue by selling predominantly to teenage consumers through direct mail catalogs, Websites and retail stores. It operates in dELiA*s brand. Through its e-commerce Webpages, catalogs and retail stores, dELiA*s (the brand) offers a variety of product categories to teenage girls to cater to an entire lifestyle. Through its catalogs and the e-commerce Webpages, it sells many name brand products along with its own brand products in key teenage spending categories. These products include apparel and accessories. Its mall-based dELiA*s specialty retail stores derive revenue primarily from the sale of apparel and accessories and, to a lesser extent, branded apparel to teenage girls. It operates in two segments: direct marketing and retail stores."

Hedge Fund Valinor Management Buys More Accuride (ACW)

David Gallo's hedge fund Valinor Management recently filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Accuride (ACW). Due to portfolio activity on August 25th, Valinor has disclosed a 5.6% ownership stake in Accuride with 2,647,414 shares.

This marks a 46% increase in their position size since the end of the second quarter, as they've purchased 836,130 additional shares. Gallo's hedge fund has been active lately as they also added to their Popular (BPOP) position.

Per Google Finance, Accuride is "engaged in manufacturers and suppliers of commercial vehicle components in North America. The Company’s products include commercial vehicle wheels, wheel-end components and assemblies, truck body and chassis parts, and other commercial vehicle components."

Valinor is invested in another economically sensitive name involved in the commercial vehicle sector as they also own Swift Transportation (SWFT).

David Gallo's Valinor Management Adds to Popular (BPOP) Position

David Gallo's hedge fund firm Valinor Management recently filed a 13G with the SEC due to portfolio activity on July 26th in shares of Popular Inc (BPOP). Per the filing, Valinor has revealed a 5.12% ownership stake in BPOP with 52,300,172 shares.

This marks a 52% increase in Valinor's position size in Popular since the first quarter. While this recent trading took place in late July, it's impossible to guess if the hedge fund has done anything with the position since then during August's tumultuous market decline. Since July 26th, shares of BPOP are down 16% and hit a new 52 week low today.

In other activity from the hedge fund, we've detailed Valinor's stake in Swift Transportation (SWFT).

Per Google Finance, Popular is "a diversified, publicly owned bank holding company. The Company operates in two markets: Puerto Rico and Mainland United States. In Puerto Rico market the Company provides retail and commercial banking services through its principal banking subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR), as well as auto and equipment leasing and financing, mortgage loans, investment banking, broker-dealer and insurance services through specialized subsidiaries. In Mainland United States market, the Company operates Banco Popular North America (BPNA), including its wholly owned subsidiary E-LOAN, Inc. (E-LOAN)."

Valinor Management Boosts Swift Transportation (SWFT) Stake

David Gallo's hedge fund Valinor Management just filed an amended 13G with the SEC regarding Swift Transportation (SWFT). Due to trading on June 2nd, Valinor now owns 8.8% of SWFT with 7,023,271 shares.

This marks a 47% increase in their position size as they owned only 4,767,170 shares at the end of the first quarter (March 31st). We covered when Valinor originally started their stake in SWFT back in December as the company went public.

Over the past few months we've also detailed activity from Gallo's hedge fund in Clearwater Paper (CLW) as well as Cott (COT).

We're always curious as to how hedge funds got their name, so it's interesting that Gallo's firm is named after lands inhabited by immortal souls from the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. Before founding Valinor, Gallo earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and worked at Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management.

Per Google Finance, Swift Transportation "formerly Swift Holdings Corp., is a transportation services company and a truckload carrier in North America. As of September 30, 2010, the Company operated a tractor fleet of approximately 16,200 units comprised of 12,300 tractors driven by company drivers and 3,900 owner-operator tractors, a fleet of 48,600 trailers, and 4,500 intermodal containers from 35 terminals positioned near major freight centers and traffic lanes in the United States and Mexico."

David Gallo's Valinor Management Increases Clearwater Paper (CLW) Position

David Gallo's hedge fund firm Valinor Management recently added to its position in Clearwater Paper (CLW). Due to portfolio activity on February 24th, Valinor now shows a 5.1% ownership stake in CLW with 581,380 shares.

This is a slight increase in their holdings as they owned 505,106 shares at the end of 2010. As such, they've boosted their position size by 15%. We've detailed some of Valinor's other portfolio activity as well.

In general, the paper and packaging industry has garnered increased interest from hedge funds as of late. Dan Loeb's hedge fund Third Point explained why in a recent letter, citing four factors for the industry's upheaval:

"1. The expiration of the (black liquor) tax credit caused the closure of many marginal paper plants and led to much higher paper pricing for the survivors in 2010-11.

2. Paper can only be recycled only a limited number of times before the fiber wears out, further increasing OCC (recycled paper) pricing.

3. Softwood pulp producers or those who are vertically integrated with their own softwood pulp enjoy a substantial cost advantage.

4. The combination of industry consolidation and capacity reduction has led to many paper grades currently running at +90% utilization, a level that gives them the flexibility to raise prices."


Be sure to read Third Point's full rationale on the paper industry. Hedge funds have also been active in Smurfit-Stone (SSCC) as the paper company received a takeover offer, as well as Abitibibowater (ABH), another paper company that just emerged from bankruptcy.

Per Google Finance, Clearwater Paper is "a producer of tissue and paperboard products in the United States. The Company’s products are manufactured in the United States and utilize primarily wood pulp. The Company operates in three segments: Consumer Products, Pulp and Paperboard, and Wood Products."

Valinor Management Boosts Cott (COT) Position, Starts Solarwinds (SWI) Stake

David Gallo's hedge fund firm, Valinor Management, recently filed two 13G's with the SEC regarding recent portfolio activity. First, the hedge fund has increased its stake in Cott Corporation (COT). We previously detailed when Valinor started a COT stake back in early December.

Cott Corporation (COTT)

Gallo's firm now shows an 8.8% ownership stake in COT with 8,313,841 shares due to portfolio activity on January 19th. This is a 52% increase in their position size since a month ago.

Readers will be interested to know that shares of COT are largely trading around the level where Valinor established its position in the stock. This is one of those rare opportunities where the timelag in the regulatory disclosure is negligible in allowing an investor to purchase shares at relatively the same price as the hedge fund.

Solarwinds (SWI)

Second, Valinor Management has also revealed a brand new position in Solarwinds (SWI). Due to portfolio activity on January 19th, Gallo's hedge fund shows a 5.4% ownership stake in SWI with 3,803,204 shares.

For more portfolio activity from this hedge fund, we also detailed Valinor's new position in Swift Transportation (SWFT), as well as the addition to their DSW stake (DSW).

Per Google Finance, Cott Corp is "a non-alcoholic beverage company and a retailer brand soft drink provider. In addition to carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), its product includes clear, still and sparkling flavored waters, juice-based products, bottled water, energy-related drinks and ready-to-drink teas."

Solarwinds "designs, develops, markets, sells and supports enterprise information technology (IT), management software to IT professionals in organizations of all sizes. The Company’s offerings ranges from individual software tools to software products, which solve problems faced every day by IT professionals and help to enable management of networks and IT environments."

Stay up to date with the latest portfolios from top managers with our ongoing hedge fund tracking.

David Gallo's Valinor Starts Stake in Swift Transportation (SWFT)

David Gallo's hedge fund firm Valinor Management just filed a 13G with the SEC to disclose a brand new position in Swift Transportation (SWFT). Per portfolio activity on December 16th, 2010, Valinor shows a 7.3% ownership in SWFT with 5,380,312 shares.

This is a brand new position for the hedge fund as Swift Transportation's initial public offering (IPO) took place on December 16th and Valinor most likely purchased shares in the IPO. The company recently reported a $48.3 million loss in the fourth quarter and attributed much of its loss to debt refinancing transactions and IPO related expenses.

Earlier this week we detailed some other recent portfolio activity from Valinor as well for those interested.

Per Google Finance, Swift Transportation "formerly Swift Holdings Corp., is a transportation services company and a truckload carrier in North America. As of September 30, 2010, the Company operated a tractor fleet of approximately 16,200 units comprised of 12,300 tractors driven by company drivers and 3,900 owner-operator tractors, a fleet of 48,600 trailers, and 4,500 intermodal containers from 35 terminals positioned near major freight centers and traffic lanes in the United States and Mexico."

Keep tabs on the latest hedge fund movements with our analysis of the latest SEC filings.

Hedge Fund Valinor Management Adds to DSW Inc (DSW)

David Gallo's hedge fund firm Valinor Management just filed an amended 13G with the SEC regarding its position in DSW Inc (DSW). Due to portfolio activity on January 12th, 2011, Valinor has disclosed a 9.8% ownership stake in DSW with 1,634,361 shares.

Valinor has boosted its position size by 64%, buying 637,834 more shares over the past three and a half months. At third quarter's end (September 30th, 2010), they owned 996,527 shares. In other recent portfolio activity from Gallo, we've highlighted Valinor's new position in Cott (COT) as well.

Gallo's firm is named after lands inhabited by immortal souls from the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. Before founding Valinor, Gallo was at Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management and earned his MBA at Harvard Business School.

Per Google Finance, DSW Inc is "a branded footwear specialty retailer. As of January 30, 2010, the Company operated 305 shoe stores in 39 states in the United States. The Company offers an assortment of dress, casual and athletic footwear for women and men, as well as accessories through DSW stores and dsw.com."

For the latest in hedge fund portfolio activity, scroll through our coverage of SEC filings.

Valinor Management Starts Cott Corporation (COT) Stake

David Gallo's hedge fund Valinor Management has disclosed a brand new position in Cott Corporation (COT) via a 13G filed with the SEC. Due to portfolio activity on December 2nd, Valinor has revealed a 5.8% ownership stake in COT with 5,457,532 shares. In their last 13F filing (portfolio disclosed as of September 30th), Valinor did not show a position in COT. As such, they've assembled this brand new stake over the past two and a half months.

Other portfolio activity out of Gallo's hedge fund we detailed includes a past increase in their Gymboree (GYMB) stake. This position turned out well as the company was bought out by Bain Capital.

Before founding Valinor, Gallo worked at Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management and earned his MBA at Harvard Business School. His firm is named after lands inhabited by immortal souls from the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Per Google Finance, Cott is "a non-alcoholic beverage company and a retailer brand soft drink provider. In addition to carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), its product includes clear, still and sparkling flavored waters, juice-based products, bottled water, energy-related drinks and ready-to-drink teas."

Stay up to date with the most recent hedge fund filings on our site.

Hedge Fund Valinor Management Buys More Gymboree (GYMB)

David Gallo's hedge fund Valinor Management has updated its position in Gymboree (GYMB). Per a 13G filed with the SEC, Valinor now shows a 5.6% ownership stake in GYMB with 1,529,368 shares. This is due to portfolio activity on August 25th and reflects a 53.5% increase in their position size. Back on June 30th, Gallo's hedge fund owned 996,069 shares of Gymboree. This is the first SEC-disclosed position from Valinor in a few months. Back in May, we saw that they increased their position in Cardtronics (CATM) as well.

Prior to founding Valinor, Gallo worked at Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management. Gallo received an MBA from Harvard Business School. His hedge fund, Valinor, is named after the lands often inhabited by immortal souls in the books authored by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Taken from Google Finance, Gymboree is "a specialty retailer operating stores selling apparel and accessories for children under the Gymboree, Gymboree Outlet, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8 brands, as well as play programs for children under the Gymboree Play & Music brand."

To see what other hedge funds have been investing in lately, scroll through our latest coverage of SEC filings.

David Gallo's Valinor Management Increases Cardtronics Position (CATM)

David Gallo's hedge fund Valinor Management recently filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Cardtronics (CATM). In the disclosure, we see that as of May 10th, they own 2,377,037 shares of CATM, a 5.7% ownership stake in the company. This is an increase in their position. In Valinor's recently filed 13F which details positions as of March 31st, 2010, we see that they owned 1,513,846 shares. This means they've increased their position size by 57% over the past month and a half. We'll be detailing Valinor's portfolio in our hedge fund portfolio tracking series so stay tuned for that.

Prior to founding Valinor, Gallo worked at Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and the hedge fund is named after lands often inhabited by immortal souls from the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. We've just started tracking Valinor's portfolio in recent quarters and in the past have detailed some of their position adjustments.

Taken from Google Finance, Cardtronics is "a provider of automated consumer financial services through its network of automated teller machines (ATMs) and multi-function financial services kiosks."

David Gallo's Valinor Management Adds Heavily to Goldman Sachs, Iconix Positions: 13F Filing

(This post is part of our series on tracking hedge fund portfolios. If you're unfamiliar with tracking investments they disclose via SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund 13F filings.)

Next up is David Gallo's Valinor Management. Gallo founded Valinor after previously working at Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and the hedge fund is named after lands often inhabited by immortal souls from the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. We just started covering Valinor's portfolio, and in the past have detailed their recent position adjustments.

The positions listed below were Valinor's long equity, note, and options holdings as of December 31st, 2009 as filed with the SEC. All holdings are common stock unless otherwise denoted.


Brand New Positions
Check Point Software (CHKP)
Education Management (EDMC)
Cardinal Health (CAH)
Amedisys (AMED) Puts
PHH (PHH)
Bank of America preferreds (BAC-S)
Schweitzer mauduit (SWM)
Graphic Packaging (GPK)
Lear (LEA)
Boston Scientific (BSX)


Increased Positions
Goldman Sachs (GS): Increased by 457.4%
Gymboree (GYMB): Increased by 304.3%
Iconix (ICON): Increased by 132.7%
Popular (BPOP): Increased by 82.4%
Qualcomm (QCOM): Increased by 78.6%
Regions Financial (RF): Increased by 72.3%
Bank of America (BAC): Increased by 68.2%
Assurant (AIZ)): Increased by 44.8%
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS): Increased by 42.3%
Morgan Stanley (MS): Increased by 38.2%
Yahoo (YHOO): Increased by 33.8%
LM Ericsson (ERIC): Increased by 28.7%
Jarden (JAH): Increased by 19.4%
Covanta (CVA): Increased by 19.1%


Reduced Positions
DSW (DSW): Reduced position by 33.6%
Monsanto (MON): Reduced position by 21.5%


Removed Positions (Sold out completely):
People United Financial (PBCT)
Allegheny Energy (AYE)
International Speedway (ISCA)
Ecolab (ECL)
Hertz Global (HTZ)
Exterran (EXH)
Royal Caribbean (RCL)
Allergan (AGN)
United Community Banks (UCBI)
Eclipsys (ECLP)
MSC Software (MSCS)
YRC Worldwide (YRCW)


Top 15 Holdings by percentage of assets reported on 13F filing

1. Wyndham Worldwide (WYN): 4.29%
2. American Water Works (AWK): 3.18%
3. LM Ericsson Telephone (ERIC): 3.15%
4. Popular (BPOP): 3.10%
5. Goldman Sachs (GS): 3.06%
6. Covanta (CVA): 3.06%
7. Assurant (AIZ): 3.04%
8. Transdigm Group (TDG): 2.97%
9. Jarden (JAH): 2.96%
10. Iconix (ICON): 2.92%
11. Qualcomm (QCOM): 2.92%
12. Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS): 2.92%
13. Yahoo (YHOO): 2.91%
14. Regions Financial (RF): 2.78%
15. Monsanto (MON): 2.49%
    

Wyndham Worldwide is their largest holding and this is certainly the first time we've seen a hotel at the very top of a hedgie's portfolio. In fact, Valinor's portfolio as a whole doesn't resemble many of the other hedge funds we've looked at as it seems they take the road less traveled. Some examples of this would be positions in Yahoo, Regions Financial, and American Water Works. However, Valinor does join the plethora of other hedge funds betting on Transdigm Group (TDG).

Of the positions they added the most to, Goldman Sachs takes the cake as they boosted their position by over 450%. Other large additions include Popular (BPOP) and Iconix Brand (ICON). There weren't many reductions in their portfolio at all, especially when you consider their reported assets rose 28% on a quarter over quarter basis. Overall, Valinor increased their long US equity portfolio via consumer goods and financials exposure and they reduced services exposure.

Data used for this article comes from Alphaclone, our source for backtesting strategies and sorting through all the hedge fund portfolio maneuvers with ease. Assets reported on the 13F filing were $1.2 billion this quarter compared to $956 million last quarter, almost a 28% increase. Remember that these filings are not representative of the hedge fund's entire base of AUM.

We'll be tracking 40+ prominent funds in our fourth quarter 2009 hedge fund portfolio tracking series. We've already covered Seth Klarman's Baupost Group, Mohnish Pabrai's Investment Fund, Carl Icahn's hedge fund Icahn Partners, David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital, David Tepper's Appaloosa Management, Warren Buffett's portfolio, John Paulson's hedge fund Paulson & Co, Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital, Dan Loeb's Third Point, Eddie Lampert's RBS Partners, David Ott's Viking Global, and Chris Shumway's hedge fund Shumway Capital Partners, Chase Coleman's Tiger Global, Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital Partners, Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management, Thomas Steyer's Farallon Capital, John Burbank's Passport Capital, Brett Barakett's Tremblant Capital, George Soros' hedge fund Soros Fund Management, and Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management Charles Anderson's Fox Point Capital, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, Jonathan Auerbach's Hound Partners, Lee Hobson's Highside Capital, David Stemerman's Conatus Capital, and Matt Iorio's White Elm Capital. Check back daily for our new updates.

David Gallo's Valinor Management Updates Position

In an amended 13G filed with the SEC, we see that David Gallo's hedge fund Valinor Management has updated their stake in DSW Inc (DSW). The filing was made due to activity on December 31st, 2009 and Valinor now owns a 6.5% ownership stake in DSW with 1,068,230 aggregate shares owned. This represents a 33.5% reduction in their position (540,470 shares) as they previously owned an aggregate of 1,608,700 shares per their last 13F filing which detailed holdings as of September 30th, 2009.

This is the first time we've covered Valinor so we wanted to provide a brief background. David Gallo founded Valinor after previously working at Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management, whom we've also covered on the site. Gallo received his MBA from Harvard Business School. And, a fun fact: hedge fund Valinor is named after the lands often inhabited by immortal souls from the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. Valinor Management is part of the Tiger Cub network of hedge funds (see the Tiger Cub family tree here) due to the previous relationship with Bridger. We'll continue to cover their portfolio movements from now on.

Taken from Google Finance, DSW is "a branded footwear specialty retailer. As of January 31, 2009, the Company operated 298 DSW stores in 37 states in the United States. The Company separates its merchandise into four categories: women’s footwear, men’s footwear, athletic footwear and accessories. It also offers a complementary assortment of handbags, hosiery and other accessories. The Company’s stores average approximately 23,000 square feet and carry approximately 27,000 pairs of shoes."