Lee Cooperman Increases Loral Space & Communcations Stake

Omega Advisors' Lee Cooperman has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding his position in Loral Space & Communications (LORL).  Per the filing, Cooperman now owns 5.21% of the company with over 1.11 million shares.

This marks an increase in his position size of 94,225 shares since the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on June 25th.

We also highlighted some other recent portfolio activity from Cooperman here.

Per Google Finance, Loral Space & Communications is "a satellite communications company. The Company, through its ownership interests in affiliates, is engaged in satellite-based communications services. The Company participates in satellite services operations through its 62.8% economic interest in Telesat Holdings Inc. (Telesat Holdco), which owns Telesat Canada (Telesat). Telesat owns and leases a satellite fleet that operates in geosynchronous earth orbit approximately 22,000 miles above the equator. The Company also own 56% of XTAR, LLC (XTAR), a joint venture between Loral and Hisdesat Servicios Estrategicos S.A. (Hisdesat). XTAR owns and operates an X-band satellite. Telesat earns revenue by providing ground-based transmit and receive services, selling equipment, installing, managing and maintaining satellite networks, and providing consulting services in the field of satellite communications. Telesat categorizes its revenues into: Broadcast, Enterprise Services and Consulting & Other."

Tiger Global Boosts eHi Car Services Position

Chase Coleman's hedge fund Tiger Global has filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding its stake in eHi Car Services (EHIC).  Per the filing, Tiger Global now owns 30.5% of the company with over 16.66 million shares.

This is an increase from the 9.4 million shares that Tiger Global originally disclosed via its new eHi Car Services stake back in late May.

Coleman's stake currently includes 666,666 class A shares held via 333,333 ADS's.  The filing notes that they bought 7,266,666 shares from the company at $6 per share.

We've highlighted some of Tiger Global's other recent portfolio activity here.

Per Google Finance, eHi is "a China-based holding company, which provides car rentals and car services to both individual customers and corporate clients. The Company utilizes mobile and Internet platforms to provide online to offline (O2O) mobility solutions. The Company operates its car rentals business primarily through its People's Republic of China (PRC) subsidiaries, Shanghai eHi Car Rental Co., Ltd. (eHi Rental) and eHi Auto Services (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (eHi Jiangsu), and their subsidiaries and branches." 

Greenlight Capital & Third Point Buy Green Brick Partners Shares in IPO

David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital and Dan Loeb's Third Point have both filed 13D's and Form 4's with the SEC regarding their stakes in Green Brick Partners (GRBK).

Green Brick came to be via a reverse merger with BioFuel (formerly BIOF) last year.  The company just completed its IPO and Einhorn and Loeb both acquired more shares.  In fact, they've been involved with the company since 2010.

Einhorn now owns 49.9% of Green Brick with over 24.12 million shares per the 13D he filed.  Greenlight bought over 8.4 million shares in the IPO.

Loeb now owns 16.9% of Green Brick with over 8.18 million shares per their separately filed 13D.  Third Point acquired over 2.84 million shares in the IPO at $10 per share.

It's also worth pointing out that the CEO Jim Brickman owns a substantial stake in the company as well and has a ton of industry experience.

Per Google Finance, Green Brick Partners "is a real estate operator. The Company is involved in the purchase and development of land for residential use, construction lending and home building operations. The Company operates through two segments: land development and homebuilding services. Within homebuilding services segment, the Company has two divisions: Texas and Georgia. The Company's land development segment conducts its business under the brand Green Brick Communities."

According to the company's website, Green Brick owns around 3,900 home sites and originates 1,000 secured first lien loans a year.  They also own a controlling interest in 4 homebuilders in Dallas, Texas as well as the fifth largest homebuilder in Atlanta, Georgia.

The company seems to be uniquely positioned due to its focus on Texas, and specifically, the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex.  These cities/suburbs have very limited housing inventory and high demand, which has been pushing up home prices markedly.  This demand is in part caused by a large number of corporate relocations to the area.

Texas has been attracting these companies via Governor Greg Abbott's focus on tax breaks for businesses who come to the state.  He recently signed $4 billion in tax cuts for businesses and homeowners and also cut the business franchise tax by 25%.  Texas also has no state income tax.

The DFW area specifically has recently seen corporate relocations of Toyota's North American Headquarters, FedEx Office, Liberty Mutual, and many more.  This is bringing thousands of jobs to the area, resulting in a need for more housing supply. 

So home prices are up and inventory is down, but at the same time, many homebuilders are also facing increased costs on materials and labor (shortage of qualified subcontractors, etc).

What We're Reading ~ 7/1/15

Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics [Richard Thaler]

Investing is emotional [Reformed Broker]

On 'do something' syndrome [Farnam Street]

Four things the stock market has taught me [Morgan Housel]

An updated sum of the parts analysis on IAC Interactive [MicroFundy]

Railroads' competitive advantages are solid, but challenges lie ahead [Morningstar]

A brief look at Moody's (MCO) [Jnvestor]

How Fanuc quietly took over the world [Nikkei Asian Review]

Macau builds, but gamblers don't come [WSJ]

It's 1929 in China - here's a look at the recent mania [David Stockman]

A partnership with China to avoid world war [George Soros]

For American pundits, China isn't a country. It's a fantasyland [Washington Post]

Western firms caught off guard as Chinese shoppers flock to web [WSJ]

US short sellers betting on Canadian housing crash [National Post]

Persuasion depends mostly on audience [HBR]

Is this the office of the future? A look at WeWork [Bloomberg]

Julian Robertson on Greece/Europe, China & Various Stock Picks

CNBC's Kelly Evans interviewed Tiger Management's Julian Robertson and he talked about a range of topics, including Greece and Europe, China, Puerto Rico, and various stocks.

He doesn't seem too terribly concerned by the situation in Greece in and of itself, but if contagion spreads to Spain or Italy and potentially other countries, then things could get dicey.

Robertson says European equities "have been a very good place to be and may still be ... but you certainly want to hedge the currency."

His main concern now is that we're in the midst of a serious credit bubble.  Money that normally would flow into bonds has been forced into stocks.  This is something he's mentioned previously as well.

On Chinese equities, he notes, "I think the prospects for Chinese companies... some of them are very great.  I have changed from Alibaba (BABA) to JD.com (JD) ... JD has an advantage in that it's never had any knock-off problems.  We are very bullish on JD now and we have sold Alibaba for it."  Our Hedge Fund Wisdom newsletter back in May highlighted that many Tiger Cub funds were betting big on JD.

Robertson continues to like Apple (AAPL) but he's not overly concerned about the Watch.  He said, "Apple would be selling at double or triple its present price now if this was the 70's or 80's."

Additionally, he continues to like Gilead Sciences (GILD).  He's been short Assured Guaranty (AGO) as well.

On his industry, Robertson notes that, "I think the hedge fund industry is suffering from the expansion of the industry."  He says now you're competing with so many other hedge funds whereas back in the day you were competing with less managers and less sophisticated rivals.

Embedded below is the video of Robertson's interview on CNBC:



For more on this legendary investor, head to Morgan Creek's Q1 letter on learning from Robertson.

ValueAct Capital Supports Willis Group Merger; Slightly Trims Adobe Systems Stake

Jeff Ubben's activist investment firm ValueAct Capital has filed a Form 4 with the SEC concerning Adobe Systems (ADBE) and a 13D regarding Willis Group (WSH).

Supports Willis Group Merger

Per the amended 13D filing, ValueAct continues to own 10.3% of WSH with over 18.4 million shares.  This is the same exposure they had at the end of Q1.

The company just entered into a merger agreement with Towers Watson (TW) and ValueAct has supported the transaction and will vote in favor of it.

ValueAct Slightly Trims Adobe Systems Stake

Per the Form 4, ValueAct trimmed its ADBE stake by selling 307,000 shares spread out over June 26th, 29th, and 30th.  They sold at prices of $83.55, $82.02, and $82.08.  ADBE currently trades around $81.  After these small sales, ValueAct still owns over 15.7 million shares of Adobe.

For more from this firm, we highlighted how they recently increased their Agrium stake as well.

Trian Fund Takes Activist Pentair Stake

Nelson Peltz's activist firm Trian Fund Management has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding shares of Pentair (PNR).  Per the filing, Trian now owns 7.24% of the company with over 13 million shares.

This is a brand new stake for Trian as they didn't own any shares as of the end of the first quarter.  The filing notes that they've engaged management already. 

They were out buying shares in May and June at prices between $61.9163 and $64.3024.  The firm also entered into call and put transactions (May 2016 and June 2018 calls).

Trian wants Pentair to expand via acquisitions and the Wall Street Journal has more color on their thinking here.

We've also recently highlighted other portfolio activity from Trian here.

Per Yahoo Finance, Pentair is "operates as a diversified industrial manufacturing company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Valves & Controls, Technical Solutions, Flow & Filtration Solutions, and Water Quality Systems segments. It designs, manufactures, markets, and services valves, fittings, automation and controls, and actuators, as well as provides engineering, design, inspection, maintenance, and repair services."

Bruce Richards' Wall Street Week Interview on Credit, Greece & More

Anthony Scaramucci and Gary Kaminsky's Wall Street Week has continued its streak of impressive guests and this week interviewed Bruce Richards of Marathon Asset Management.

Marathon focuses on global credit and manages around $12.5 billion. He thinks US equity markets are looking at 3-5% returns going forward given the vast run up over the past few years.  Overall, he says "it's a difficult time to invest."

However, he sees some opportunities in Europe as quantitative easing is just getting started over there and economies are growing and banks are well healed.

He also sees some good plays in emerging markets in debt in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and others.  Additionally, he's involved in Puerto Rico via playing the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA).

Richards also talked about position sizing, noting that 5% is their max, as they favor diversification and typically build 1-2% position sizes.

Embedded below is the Wall Street Week video with Bruce Richards:




And in this web extra video clip, they sit down with Bruce Richards again to give an updated look at Greece given all the activity there:



For more great interviews, head to Carl Icahn on Wall Street Week as well as Jim Chanos on Wall Street Week.

Glenview Capital Adds To Tenet Healthcare Position

Larry Robbins' hedge fund firm Glenview Capital has filed a Form 4 with the SEC regarding its stake in Tenet Healthcare (THC).  Per the filing, Glenview now owns over 14.79 million shares. 

The Form 4 notes that Glenview was out buying 979,482 shares on June 25th at weighted average prices of $54.3028, $54.9934, and $55.924.  This is right around when the Supreme Court decision reaffirmed Obamacare subsidies and hospital stocks rocketed higher.

This has been a longstanding play for Glenview, and a highly successful one at that.  This was part of their basket of for-profit hospital stocks that they wagered would benefit from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  THC has been their biggest play in the space.

We've also detailed some other portfolio activity from Glenview earlier this week.

Per Google Finance, Tenet Healthcare is "a healthcare services company. The Company operates regionally focused, integrated healthcare delivery networks in large urban and suburban markets."

Three Bays Capital Increases Cypress Semiconductor Stake

Matthew Sidman's hedge fund firm Three Bays Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Cypress Semiconductor (CY).  Per the filing, Three Bays now owns 5.6% of the company with 18.49 million shares.

This is a sizable increase over the 8.2 million shares the fund owned at the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on June 17th.  Since the end of Q1, shares of CY have traded down from $14 to current levels of around $11.56, prompting Three Bays to add to its stake.

About Three Bays Capital

This is the first time this hedge fund has been mentioned on the site.  Sidman founded Three Bays after previously working at Highfields Capital.  It launched with around $500 million in 2013 but its latest 13F filing shows US assets of $2.37 billion as of the end of Q1 2015.

About Cypress Semiconductor

Per Google Finance, Cypress Semiconductor is "a provider of mixed-signal programmable solutions. The Company's offerings include PSoC 1, PSoC 3, PSoC 4 and PSoC 5LP programmable system-on-chip families. It caters to markets, including industrial, mobile handsets, consumer, computation, data communications, automotive and military. The Company operates in four segments: Programmable Systems Division, Memory Products Division, Data Communications Division and Emerging Technologies Division. The Programmable Solutions Division designs and develops solutions for end-product manufacturers. The Memory Products Division designs and manufactures SRAM products and non-volatile RAMs (random access memories). The Data Communications Division focuses on solutions for industrial, handset and consumer applications. The Emerging Technologies Division consists of the Company's subsidiaries, AgigA Tech, Inc. and Deca Technologies, Inc."

Blue Ridge Capital Discloses Fitbit Stake

John Griffin's hedge fund firm Blue Ridge Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Fitbit (FIT).  Per the filing, Blue Ridge owns 8.32% of the company with 3.5 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed position for the firm as Fitbit recently completed its initial public offering (IPO).  The filing was made due to activity on June 18th.

Per Google Finance, Fitbit is "a provider of health and fitness products. The Company's Fitbit platform combines connected health and fitness devices with software and services, including an online dashboard and mobile applications, data analytics, motivational and social tools, personalized insights, and virtual coaching through fitness plans and interactive workouts. It offers a number of fitness products, including Fitbit Zip, Fitbit One, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Charge HR, Fitbit Surge and Aria. Its wrist-based and clippable devices automatically track users’ daily steps, calories burned, distance traveled, floors climbed, and active minutes and display real-time feedback to encourage them to become more active in their daily lives. Fitbit Premium is its membership that serves as an around the clock virtual personal trainer delivered to users through any Web browser. It operates FitStar, a provider of interactive video-based exercise experiences on mobile devices and computers."

Viking Global Increases Esperion Therapeutics Stake

Andreas Halvorsen's hedge fund firm Viking Global has just filed a 13G with the SEC regarding Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR).  Viking now owns 5.9% of the company with over 1.33 million shares.

This is a sizable increase over the 136,919 shares they owned at the end of the first quarter.  This new filing was made due to activity on June 18th.

You can view additional portfolio activity from Viking Global here.

Per Google Finance, Esperion is "a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing oral, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) lowering therapies for the treatment of patients with hypercholesterolemia and other cardio-metabolic risk markers. The Company's primary activities include conducting research and development activities, including nonclinical, preclinical and clinical testing, performing business and financial planning, recruiting personnel, and raising capital. ETC-1002, the Company's lead product candidate, is an orally available, once-daily small molecule designed to lower LDL-cholesterol levels and avoid the side effects associated with other LDL-cholesterol lowering therapies currently available. ETC-1002 is being developed for patients with hypercholesterolemia. One completed Phase IIb clinical study and a second that is nearing completion build upon a Phase I and Phase II clinical development program for ETC-1002."

Glenview Capital Ramps Up Manpower Group Exposure

Larry Robbins' hedge fund firm Glenview Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Manpower Group (MAN).  Per the filing, Glenview now owns 7.24% of the company with over 5.66 million shares.

This marks a sizable increase over the 2.26 million shares they owned at the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on June 15th.

You can see more recent Glenview portfolio activity here.

Per Google Finance, Manpower Group is "a provider of workforce solutions and services. The Company’s services include recruitment and assessment; training and development; career management; outsourcing, and workforce consulting. Training and development offer a portfolio of training courses and leadership development solutions. The Company provides clients with outsourcing services related to human resources functions primarily in the areas of recruiting and workforce-intensive initiatives. The Company offers various brands, which include Manpower; Experis; Right Management, and ManpowerGroup Solutions."

Plymouth Lane Capital Goes Activist on Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Jonathan Salinas' hedge fund firm Plymouth Lane Capital has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO).  Per the filing, Plymouth Lane now owns 10.9% of the company with over 3.55 million shares.

Per the filing, Salinas' firm was acquiring shares throughout May and June at prices between $4.90 and $6.97.

The 13D notes that after the company's recent merger agreement, the hedge fund plans to engage with management of the company.  Martha Stewart is selling itself to Sequential Brands Group (SQBG).

We also previously highlighted some previous portfolio activity from Plymouth Lane Capital here.


About Plymouth Lane Capital

This is the second time the fund's been featured on the site, so here's some background for those who missed it:  Plymouth Lane primarily operates an equity strategy and was launched in April 2013. Prior to founding Plymouth Lane, Jon Salinas worked at Marble Arch Investments and earned his MBA from Columbia Business School.

At a prior Columbia Business School conference, Salinas noted that you have to focus on the margin of safety if it's an event-driven idea. But if it's a compounder-type business, he said you have to have high confidence that earnings will compound at the rate expected. He also mentioned that if you're taking concentrated positions, it's detrimental to let thesis creep go unnoticed. If evidence contrary to your thesis pops up, you have to be able to recognize it and act.


About Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia 

Per Google Finance, the company is "a global lifestyle company. The Company operates in three segments: Publishing, Merchandising and Broadcasting. The Publishing segment primarily consists of the Company's operations related to its magazines and books, as well as its digital operations, which includes the Website, marthastewart.com. The Merchandising segment primarily consists of the Company's operations related to the design and branding of merchandise and related collateral and packaging materials that are distributed by its retail and manufacturing partners. The Merchandising segment also includes the licensing of talent services for television programming. The Broadcasting segment consists of the Company's limited television operations and its satellite radio operations. Its Website includes Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Collection, Martha Stewart Pets, Martha Stewart Crafts, Martha Stewart Weddings, Everyday Food and Emeril."

Hedge Fund Links ~ 6/29/15

Panic among hedge fund investors in Greece [NYTimes]

Citadel preps new stock-picking unit [WSJ]

John Paulson riding healthcare with new fund [CNBC]

Profile of Oaktree's Howard Marks [Observer]

Where Coatue is betting these days [CNBC]

Ackman's Pershing Square raising up to $1b in senior notes [FINalternatives]

Hedge funds score big gains [WSJ]

Brevan Howard grooming managers in-house [Bloomberg]

The silent hedge fund apocalypse [FT Alphaville]

Why some 'Tiger Cub' hedge funds are shutting down [CNBC]

Paul Tudor Jones forms LaunchPad to train traders [FINalternatives]

Hedge funds boost investment in Credit Karma [FINalternatives]

Hedge funds for masses lose shine [Bloomberg]

What We're Reading ~ 6/24/15

A Wealth of Common Sense: Why Simplicity Trumps Complexity in Any Investment Plan 
[Ben Carlson]

The loneliness of the short-seller [NYTimes]

Shorters needed [FT Alphaville]

Fat tails, thin ice [Jason Zweig]

What is staying power? [Fundoo Professor]

On the fear premium in stocks [Crossing Wall Street]

A look at Brookfield Asset Management [Brooklyn Investor]

Mobile is eating the world [Andreessen Horowitz]

Sketching out the internet of things trendline [Brookings]

The way humans get electricity is about to change forever [Bloomberg]

Cheap energy poised to shake up pipeline industry [WSJ]

Driverless cars + Uber = death of car insurance? [Value & Opportunity]

Insurers cannot be asleep at the wheel [Bank Underground]

Buyback extravaganza [Investor Field Guide]

Beware the stock buyback craze [WSJ]

Union Pacific: the railroad with better profit margins than Google [Fortune]

Ant Financial valued at $45 billion after fundraising [FT]

The CFA vs MBA decision [A Wealth of Common Sense]

Best age to go to business school [Bloomberg]

Lee Cooperman Dumps Sandridge Energy Position

Omega Advisors' Lee Cooperman has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Sandridge Energy (SD).  Per the filing, Cooperman no longer owns a stake in the company.

The filing was made due to activity on June 19th.  At the end of the first quarter, Cooperman previously owned over 24.3 million shares of SD.

Sandridge shares have collapsed even further since the first quarter and now Cooperman has exited the name entirely.  He also recently sold his position in Caesars Entertainment, another troubled stock.

Per Google Finance, Sandridge is "an oil and natural gas company. The Company operates in three business segments: exploration and production, drilling and oil field services, and midstream services. The exploration and production segment explores for, develops and produces oil and natural gas in the Mid-Continent. The drilling and oil field services segment performs services for third parties, including third-party working interests in wells that it operates. The midstream services segment is engaged in gas marketing. The Company focuses on exploration and production activities in the Mid-Continent region of the United States. It also operates businesses and infrastructure systems, including gas gathering and processing facilities, marketing operations, a saltwater disposal system, an electrical transmission system and a drilling rig and related oil field services business."

Carl Icahn Exits Netflix, Bearish on High Yield Bonds, Still Likes Apple

Today activist investor Carl Icahn tweeted that he has sold the rest of his stake in Netflix (NFLX).  This has been an extremely successful trade for him.  He later appeared on CNBC and noted that it was undervalued when he bought it, but now it has had a great run and their competitive moat isn't quite what it once was.


Additionally, Icahn noted his bearishness on the high yield bond market.  This is something he harped on in his Wall Street Week appearance as well.  In fact, he's concerned about the markets in general.

He tweeted: "I believe the market is extremely overheated - especially high yield bonds.  If more respected investors had warned about the market in '07, we might have avoided the crisis in '08."

The one shining light he continues to like is Apple (AAPL).  He still hasn't sold a share of his position.  He tweeted:

"Sold last of our $NFLX today.  Believe $AAPL currently represents same opportunity we stated NFLX offered several years ago."

Trian Fund Trims Wendy's Position

Nelson Peltz's activist firm Trian Fund Management has filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding their stake in Wendy's (WEN).  Per the filing, Trian now owns 15.85% of the company with over 57.6 million shares

This is a reduction in their position size by over 7 million shares.  Trian sold shares on June 18th at a price of $11.37 in a private transaction with the company.  Peltz and his family also own additional WEN shares and were out trimming their positions as well.  This is not necessarily new news, as we previously highlighted how Trian was planning to reduce its WEN stake.

The filing notes that, "The number of shares Trian Group plans to sell is designed to result in at least a 20% reduction of the Trian Group's ownership of Common Stock in order to avoid adverse federal income tax consequences."

Per Google Finance, Wendy's is "the parent company of its wholly owned subsidiary holding company Wendy’s Restaurants, LLC (Wendy’s Restaurants). Wendy’s Restaurants is the parent company of Wendy’s International, LLC (Wendy’s), which is the owner and franchisor of the Wendy’s restaurant system in the United States. Wendy’s is the quick-service restaurant company in the hamburger sandwich segment. Wendy’s is primarily engaged in the business of operating, developing and franchising a system of distinctive quick-service restaurants serving food. Wendy’s Restaurants is the parent company of Wendy’s International, LLC (Wendy’s), which is the owner and franchisor of the Wendy’s restaurant system in the United States."

JANA Partners Goes Activist on ConAgra Foods

Barry Rosenstein's activist hedge fund JANA Partners has filed a 13D on shares of ConAgra Foods (CAG).  Per the filing, JANA now owns 7.2% of the company with over 30.86 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed stake for the fund as they did not own any shares at the end of Q1.  JANA's position includes options to purchase 19 million shares.  They bought July 2015 $33 and $34 calls and August '15 $34 calls.

The filing indicates that JANA "believes that the Issuer has significantly underperformed in shareholder value creation" and singled out the acquisition of Ralcorp.

JANA is prepared to nominate 3 members to the board: Rosenstein, Mr. Lawrence (former CFO of Unilever and General Mills), and Ms. Dietz (former CMO of Safeway).  JANA was out buying shares in April, May, and June at prices between $36.09 and 38.99

For more from this firm, head to Barry Rosenstein's recent appearance on Wall Street Week.

Per Google Finance, ConAgra Foods is a "packaged food company. The Company provides branded and private branded food in households, as well as commercial foods business serving restaurants and foodservice operations. The Company’s brands include Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Marie Callender's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim and Snack Pack, among others."

Lee Cooperman Dumps Caesars Entertainment Stake

Omega Advisors' Lee Cooperman has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Caesars Entertainment (CZR).  Per the filing, Cooperman no longer owns any shares of CZR and has exited his position entirely.

He previously reported ownership of over 7.33 million shares at the end of the first quarter.  The updated filing was made due to activity on June 5th.

CZR shares recently hit a 52-week low as the company's subsidiary, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company is in bankruptcy and is fighting with creditors and this could have implications for the parent company. 

Per Google Finance, Caesars Entertainment is "a holding and casino-entertainment and hospitality services company. The Company's facilities include gaming offerings, food and beverage outlets, hotel and convention space, and non-gaming entertainment options."

What We're Reading ~ 6/17/15

How to judge a business's durability [Gannon & Hoang on Investing]

Make more money by doing less [Abnormal Returns]

Learning to love volatility [Farnam Street]

The struggle to define risk [A Wealth of Common Sense]

Confirmation bias: how intelligent people develop totally incorrect beliefs [PsyBlog]

A look at Heico [Jnvestor]

John Deere: great 'cannibal' or cyclical trap? [Value and Opportunity]

Precision Castparts shares offer a rare bargain [Barrons]

Profile of T-Mobile's John Legere [Fast Company]

US births up after years of decline [AP]

P/E multiples versus (past and future) returns and volatility [EconompicData]

How Hermes' legendary Birkin bag remains dominant [Bloomberg]

A look at Expedia and Dara Khosrowshahi [Barrons]

On tech unicorns [Stratechery]

Andreessen Horowitz: why we're not in the next tech bubble [Fortune]

How Facebook is eating the $140 billion hardware market [Business Insider]

ValueAct Capital Increases Agrium Stake

Jeff Ubben's activist investment firm ValueAct Capital has filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding its position in Agrium (AGU).  Per the filing, ValueAct now owns 6.8% of the company with over 9.72 million shares.

This marks around a 22% increase in the number of shares owned since the end of the first quarter.  The filing indicates ValueAct was buying AGU in late April, late May, and early June.  They purchased shares between $102.54 and $104.08.  AGU currently still trades within that range.

ValueAct also recently trimmed their large Valeant Pharmaceuticals stake and definitely has more cash on hand to deploy if desired.

Per Google Finance, Agrium is "a Canada-based producer and marketer of nutrients for agricultural and industrial markets. Agrium is a retailer of agricultural products and services in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay and a multi-national producer and wholesale marketer of nutrients for agricultural and industrial markets. The Company operates through its two business units: Retail and Wholesale. Agrium Wholesale owns 16 production facilities in North and South America across the nitrogen, potash and phosphate spectrum; two mines; and a distribution and storage network throughout North America and internationally through Agrium Europe. Agrium Retail operates approximately 1,375 retail locations, 57 terminals, 8 plants and 18 distribution centers in North and South America, as well as Australia."

PointState Capital Starts Amaya Position

Zach Schreiber's hedge fund firm PointState Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Amaya (AYA).  Per the filing, PointState now owns 8.76% of the company with over 11.66 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed equity stake for the firm as they did not report ownership at the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on June 11th.

Per Yahoo Finance, Amaya "provides technology-based solutions, products, and services for global gaming and interactive entertainment industries worldwide. It operates through two segments, Business-to- Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B)."

2 Free Issues of Singular Diligence For Our Readers

Investors Geoff Gannon, Quan Hoang, and Tobias Carlisle write a long-term, buy-and-hold value investing newsletter called Singular Diligence.

They want to share two free issues with Market Folly readers.

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Obscure helicopter rescue hoist maker Breeze-Eastern is the most recent domestic small cap pick.  And iconic watch maker Swatch is a recent foreign large cap pick.

Please click here to download the two issues for free.

If you'd like to learn more or subscribe to Singular Diligence, visit SingularDiligence.com.

Farallon Capital Increases Perfect World Stake

Andrew Spokes' hedge fund firm Farallon Capital has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding their position in Perfect World (PWRD).  Per the filing, Farallon now owns 8.6% of the company with 18,950,000 shares.

This marks an sizable increase in their position size after owning only 1.32 million shares as of the end of the first quarter.  The 13D contains the standard boilerplate that they might engage the company, etc.

Perfect World received a takeout offer from its Chairman, Michael Yufeng Chi, to acquire all shares for $20 per ADR share.  Farallon was out buying shares in April, sporadically throughout May, and into early June at prices around $19.90.

You can view additional portfolio activity from Farallon here.

Per Google Finance, Perfect World is "an online game developer and operator in China. The Company develops online games based on its game engines and game development platforms. Its technology capabilities consist of its game engines, game development platforms and real-time anti-cheating, all developed and built by its development team. The Company operates in two segments: PRC operations and International operations."

Corsair Capital Boosts Globe Specialty Metals Position

Jay Petschek and Steven Major's hedge fund firm Corsair Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC on their position in Globe Specialty Metals (GSM).  Per the filing, Corsair now owns 5.01% of the company with over 3.69 million shares.

This marks an increase in their position size of almost 2 million shares since the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on May 20th.  They've owned this stock for many years now.

For more from this hedge fund, check out Corsair's Q1 letter here with their thesis on Orbital ATK.

Per Google Finance, Globe Specialty Metals is "is the producer of silicon metal and silicon-based alloys. The Company’s customers include silicone chemical, aluminum and steel manufacturers, auto companies and their suppliers, ductile iron foundries, manufacturers of photovoltaic solar cells and computer chips, and concrete producers. The Company operates in five segments: GMI is a manufacturer of silicon metal and silicon-based alloys and a provider of metallurgical coal for the silicon metal and silicon-based alloys industries; Globe Metales is a manufacturer of silicon-based alloys; Solsil is a developer of upgraded metallurgical grade silicon metal; Corporate segment include general corporate expenses, investments, and related investment income, and the other segment include Yonvey’s electrode production operations, as well as Siltech’s silicon alloy production and certain other distribution operations for the sale of silicon metal and silicon-based alloys."

Pleasant Lake Partners Files 13D on MagnaChip

Jonathan Lennon's hedge fund firm Pleasant Lake Partners has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding its position in MagnaChip (MX).  Per the filing, Pleasant Lake now owns 7.7% of the ompany with over 2.64 million shares.

This is an increase over the 919,211 shares that they owned at the end of the first quarter.  The filing indicates they were out buying throughout April, May, and into June at a wide range of prices from as low as $5.37 to as high as $7.80.  They also bought call options that expire this week as well as in September at a $7.50 strike.  MX shares currently trade around $7.49.

The 13D filing also contains the standard boilerplate about potentially meeting with management, etc.


About Pleasant Lake Partners

Prior to launching his hedge fund, Lennon previously worked as a senior analyst at John Thaler's JAT Capital.  He founded Pleasant Lake in 2012 and runs a long/short equity strategy.


About Magna Chip

Per Google Finance, Magna Chip is "a South Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for high-volume consumer applications. The company operates through three segments: Display Solutions, Power Solutions, and Semiconductor Manufacturing Services. Display Solutions products include display drivers that cover a range of flat panel displays and mobile multimedia devices. Its Power Solutions products include discrete and integrated circuit solutions for power management in high-volume consumer applications. Its Semiconductor Manufacturing Services segment provides specialty analog and mixed-signal foundry services for fabless semiconductor companies that serve the consumer, computing and wireless end markets."

Jeff Saut's Latest Market Commentary: "Rescue Me"

It's been a while since we checked in on market strategist Jeff Saut, so embedded below is his latest commentary entitled "Rescue Me":



You can download a .pdf copy here.

Lee Cooperman on Wall Street Week: Market Not Cheap, But Not Priced To Perfection Either

Anthony Scaramucci and Gary Kaminsky's Wall Street Week recently interviewed Omega Advisors' Lee Cooperman.  He manages around $9.5 billion nowadays.


On the current stock market, Cooperman says, "It's not cheap, but it's not priced to perfection."

He also addressed the potential looming interest rate hikes by noting that historically, the market is higher one year after the first rate hike.  He says you only have to start to worry once rates get high enough that they start to compete with stock market returns.

He noted, "There's no question that every asset has benefited by our interest rate policy.  Having said that, a bubble is not in the stock market... if there's a bubble, it's in the bond market."  This echoes what Carl Icahn said on his Wall Street Week appearance as well.

Two specific stocks Cooperman commented on were Chimera (CIM) as well as Citigroup (C).

He talked about how he first looks at the market to discern whether it's overvalued or undervalued, and then he drills down to specific companies to see where some value might be.  He's always looking for "more growth at a lower multiple" and likes to hunt for mispricings in the market.

Embedded below is the video of Lee Cooperman's interview on Wall Street Week:



Be sure to check out other recent fund manager appearances, such as Jim Chanoss interview on Wall Street Week.

Hedge Fund Links ~ 6/12/15

Understanding business risk [A Wealth of Common Sense]

Crispin Odey's unconstrained approach to hedge funds [Institutional Investor]

Litigation bets burn hedge funds [WSJ]

IRS turns up heat on hedge fund-backed reinsurance [Lexology]

Hedge funds remain a popular choice for institutional investors [FT]

Quincy Lee's Teton Capital Trims Xoom Position

Quincy Lee's hedge fund Teton Capital Partners (Ancient Art LP) has filed an amended 13D with the SEC on its position in Xoom (XOOM).  Per the filing, Teton now owns 4.9% of XOOM with 1,897,323 shares.

Teton recently sold shares in late May and early June between $18.8514 and $21.0973.  Since the end of the first quarter, they've reduced their position size by 336,514 shares.  Year-to-date, XOOM shares have traded from around $18 in January up to recent levels of around $21.64.

Loosely speaking, the thesis on this name is that Xoom can take market share in the money transfer business with their digital offering from traditional players such as Western Union and Moneygram.

About Teton Capital / Ancient Art LP

Quincy Lee founded Teton Capital after working at publicly traded Rackspace.  According to The Economist, Teton returned 21% a year between 2001 and 2011.  Teton/Ancient Art is based in Austin, Texas.

About Xoom

Per Google Finance, Xoom is "engaged in the digital consumer-to-consumer international money transfer business. The Company offers money transfer services from the United States to around 32 countries and its cross-border bill payment services from the United States to approximately five countries. Xoom's solutions offer its customers a way to send money to, and pay bills for family and friends from any Internet-enabled location. The Company's operating platform provides various solutions for transferring funds internationally, such as origination, funding, disbursement and transaction processing. The Company's technology platform includes a customer interface which enables customers to send transactions from its Website, mobile Website or mobile application, using a computer, a tablet or a mobile phone; a risk management system; a transaction processing platform, and a disbursement integration platform."

ValueAct Capital Reduces Valeant Pharmaceuticals Stake

Jeff Ubben's activist investment firm ValueAct Capital today released a statement indicating that they've reduced their Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) position:

"ValueAct Capital Management, L.P. announced today that it has sold 4.2 million shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX; TSX: VRX) in brokers' transactions on the NYSE.  ValueAct Capital's CEO Jeffrey W. Ubben said: "Mike Pearson and the Valeant team's exceptional performance have once again caused our investment in Valeant to grow in value to well above 20% of our funds' assets, and we are again compelled to reduce our position to rebalance our overall portfolio.  We have owned Valeant shares for over nine years and have sold shares on three previous occasions for the same portfolio management purposes. After this sale, our investment in Valeant will continue to be well in excess of $3.0bn and will be one of the largest investments in our funds. I look forward to continuing to work with Mike and my fellow members of the Board of Directors."

After the sale, ValueAct should still own over 15.1 million shares.  ValueAct was instrumental in bringing Pearson on board as CEO and has benefited greatly.  This has been a consensus hedge fund favorite stock for some time, with Bill Ackman acquiring a VRX stake recently as well.

Valeant also announced a new CFO, Robert Rosiello.  He's a former McKinsey M&A executive and should fit right in given Valeant's acquisitive strategy (Pearson also used to previously work at McKinsey).


Where Does ValueAct Allocate The Proceeds?

The question now becomes: where does ValueAct put this freed up capital to work?  While they could always initiate a new position, or keep it in cash for the time being, it also wouldn't be surprising to see it allocated to some of their existing stakes given where shares of some of these companies currently trade.

The first option is 21st Century Fox (FOX).  They've previously purchased shares numerous times when trading at $32.50 or below and FOX is currently hovering close to those levels.  ValueAct just added to their FOX position in late May and could look to make it even larger after accumulating their position over numerous quarters.  They also just filed an amended 13D on Fox today which shows that their ownership stake is in an LP named Volpe Velox, which is Latin for 'quick fox.'  ValueAct currently owns over 43.5 million shares of FOX, or 5.5% of the company.

CNBC's David Faber today reported that Rupert Murdoch is set to step down as CEO (but retain his role as Executive Chairman) and son James Murdoch will take the helm, with brother Lachlan Murdoch assisting.  It's unclear if this reorganization would occur this year or next and the company's board is set to review succession plans soon.

Faber also notes that COO Chase Carey is supposedly stepping down from his role as well.  There seems to be some uncertainty as to the timing though it's possible Carey will remain with the company in an advisory role.  Some investors will be dismayed by Carey's potential departure or reduction in role.  Others could view it as a potential opportunity for FOX to bid for Time Warner (TWX) again in the future.  With ValueAct's activist involvement behind the scenes here, it will be interesting to see what's next for the company.

Another place ValueAct could allocate their VRX proceeds is to Halliburton (HAL) / Baker Hughes (BHI).  They were out accumulating shares of both during the first quarter and their exposure to both combined was almost $3 billion as of the end of Q1.  Both shares are trading higher than levels in Q1 though, as ValueAct looks for the companies to combine.

A third option for Ubben's firm is Precision Castparts (PCP).  As our Hedge Fund Wisdom newsletter highlighted, ValueAct initiated a brand new stake in the company during the first quarter.  While this position is much smaller than their others, PCP shares are still currently trading around levels where Ubben's firm could have been buying in Q1.  So they could easily ratchet up their stake around similar prices now.  Not to mention, numerous other prominent investors were buying PCP in Q1, including Berkshire Hathaway, Third Point, Farallon Capital and more.

Another potential option is shares of WESCO (WCC).  ValueAct initiated a small position in the company during the first quarter.  However, shares are trading slightly higher than Q1 levels now.

While the above seem like the most likely to garner incremental capital, ValueAct also owned stakes in the following companies as of the end of Q1 (in descending order of position size): Microsoft (MSFT), CBRE (CBG), Adobe (ADBE), Motorola Solutions (MSI), Willis Group (WSH), Agrium (AGU), Allison Transmission (ALSN), MSCI (MSCI), and Armstrong Worldwide (AWI).

For more on ValueAct, be sure to check out partner Mason Morfit on ValueAct's approach and Microsoft.

What We're Reading ~ 6/10/15

Focus on the key variables of an investment [Base Hit Investing]

Bias from overconfidence [Farnam Street]

Robert Shiller: things are overvalued [Zero Hedge]

The most important concepts in behavioral economics [StockTwits]

A pitch on Charter/Time Warner Cable [Value Venture]

A look at Precision Castparts [Jnvestor]

Why did John Malone invest in Lions Gate? [Punch Card]

On the looming rental crisis in the US [SoberLook]

Weak consumer spending: the canary in the bear market coal mine [Mauldin]

How Tesla will change the world [Wait But Why]

The state of Chinese social media in 2015 [AdAge]

Why China is blowing an equity bubble [FT]

Xiaomi, China's new phone giant, takes aim at world [WSJ]

Coal woes are spreading but it still has fans [Economist]

Caesars: a private equity gamble in Vegas gone wrong [Fortune]

On the truly exceptional business [Value Investing World]

Japan's economy grows faster than estimated [Bloomberg]

Apple is the new king of bonds [Bloomberg]

What Twitter can be [lowercase capital]

Protections for late investors can inflate start-up valuations [NYTimes]

Eminence Capital Reduces Men's Wearhouse Stake

Ricky Sandler's hedge fund firm Eminence Capital has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding its position in Men's Wearhouse (MW).  Per the filing, Eminence now owns 6.6% of the company with over 3.2 million shares.

This is a decrease from the end of the first quarter when they owned over 4.2 million MW shares.  The filing notes they sold the bulk of shares on June 5th at $57.97.

Eminence also recently disclosed a Yelp position.

Per Google Finance, Men's Wearhouse is "a specialty retailer of men's suits and a provider of tuxedo rental product in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments: retail, which offers its products and services through its four retail merchandising brands and Internet Websites. The Company's corporate apparel segment provides corporate clothing uniforms and work wear to workforces."

Lei Zhang's Hillhouse Capital Files 13D on Qunar

Lei Zhang's investment firm Hillhouse Capital has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding shares of Qunar Cayman Islands (QUNR).  Per the filing, Hillhouse now owns 12.99% of the company with exposure to over 20.2 million Class B shares. 

Their position is mainly via American Depositary Shares (ADS) of which they own 6.7 million shares.  This marks an increase from the first quarter when they owned 5.7 million ADS shares.

The filing was made due to activity on June 5th as the hedge fund participated in the company's public offering.  They purchased $170 million worth of 2.0% convertible senior notes due 2021 with a closing on June 17th, 2015.

Hillhouse originally invested in Qunar in 2013 and then acquired more in 2014 as well.

About Hillhouse Capital

Lei Zhang started his firm with $30 million and is now one of the largest hedge funds in China, managing around $18 billion.  He runs a concentrated portfolio and performs fundamental bottom-up research on individual companies with a primary focus on the Asia Pacific region. 

Zhang likes to focus on the people and teams behind the business and usually holds longs 3-5 years.  He earned both an MBA and MA from Yale as well as a BA in Economics from Renmin University of China.  Hillhouse is named after an avenue in New Haven, where Yale is located.

About Qunar

Per Google Finance, Qunar is "engaged in offering mobile and online commerce platform for travel in China. The Company offers a range of travel products, including flights, hotels, vacations packages, attraction tickets and other travel related offerings. The Company has developed Qunar Travel, its mobile application, which enables its users to search for and purchase travel products."

Howard Marks' New Memo: Risk Revisited Again

Oaktree Capital's Chairman Howard Marks is out with his latest memo entitled "Risk Revisited Again."  In it, he expands upon a previous memo on the subject.

He harps on an important point that risk is not necessarily defined as volatility, as academics would argue.  Instead, Marks points out that instead of fearing volatility, investors fear the possibility of permanent loss of capital.  This is an important distinction.

He also touches on the subject of uncertainty, noting that, "The answer lies in the fact that not being able to know the future doesn't mean we can't deal with it."  He says that the best way to deal with this is to construct a range of possibilities and the probability of each occurring.  

His memo also details the various types of risks and is really worth reading in full below.  The main takeaway here is that he says, "Today I feel it's important to pay more attention to loss prevention than to the pursuit of gain."

Embedded below is Howard Marks' latest memo, Risk Revisited Again:



You can download a .pdf copy here.

If you've missed it, check out Marks' recent memo on liquidity too.

Tiger Global Files 13G on Etsy

Chase Coleman's hedge fund Tiger Global has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Etsy (ETSY).  Per the filing, Tiger Global now owns 8.9% of the company with 10 million shares.

The company recently completed its initial public offering (IPO).  After trading as high as $36 on its opening day, shares have since plunged down to $15.95 over the past two months.

Keep in mind that Tiger had already invested in Etsy at a lower valuation (pre-split value of $5.30) while the company was still a private entity back in April 2014.

We've also recently highlighted some other Tiger Global portfolio activity as well.

Per Google Finance, Etsy "operates a marketplace where people connect, both online and offline, to make, sell and buy goods. The Company operates at the center of macroeconomic trends in online and mobile commerce, employment, consumption and manufacturing. Its sellers offer goods in online retail categories, including jewelry, stationery, clothing, home goods, craft supplies and vintage items."

Soros Fund Boosts MaxLinear Stake

George Soros' family office Soros Fund Management has filed a 13G on shares of MaxLinear (MXL).  Per the filing, Soros Fund now owns 5.19% of the company with over 2.68 million shares.

This marks an increase in their position size of over 1.9 million shares. The filing was made due to activity on May 26th.

Per Google Finance, MaxLinear is "a provider of integrated, radio-frequency (RF) and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communications and data center, metro, and long-haul transport network applications. The Company offers semiconductor products, such as RF Receivers, RF Receiver systems-on-chip (SoCs), Laser Modulator Drivers, Transimpedance Amplifiers, and Clock and Data Recovery Circuits. The Company's products receive and process RF and digital signals and enable the display of broadband video and data content in a range of electronic devices, including cable and terrestrial and satellite set top boxes, data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) data and voice gateways, hybrid analog and digital televisions, satellite low-noise blocker transponders or outdoor units, and optical modules for data center, metro, and long-haul transport network applications."

Hedge Fund Links ~ 6/5/15

Pershing Square reveals stake in Nomad [ValueWalk]

Summary of hedge fund picks at Sohn Hong Kong conference [WSJ]

More from Sohn HK [China Money Network]

Activist investor takes aim at Samsung [NYTimes]

Ex-SEC chair Mary Schapiro signs on to activist hedge fund [ValueWalk]

Women are scarce among fund managers [Morningstar]

Elliott anticipates a bigger short in bonds [ii alpha]

Coatue hunts for investments in India [IndiaTimes]

On side letters and the Caymans [All About Alpha]

What happens when you pick a fight with activist hedge funds [All About Alpha]

Olive Garden's hedge fund bosses waited tables to aid turnaround [Bloomberg]

Peltz's Trian Fund Reduces Wendy's Stake

Nelson Peltz's activist investment firm Trian Partners recently filed a 13D with the SEC regarding their stake in Wendy's (WEN).  Per the filing, they will be reducing their Wendy's (WEN) stake.  The company is buying back shares, including $211 million from Trian.

Trian's plan is to reduce their stake in Wendy's down from their current almost 25% to between 17% and 19.68% in the next couple of months.  In addition to selling shares in the buyback program, they'll also divest shares via the open market or other transactions.

Per Google Finance, Wendy's is "a quick-service restaurant company in the hamburger sandwich segment."

What We're Reading ~ China Edition

Dealing with China: An insider unmasks the new economic superpower [Henry Paulson]

Takeaways from a week in China [Justin Paterno]

A cautionary tale from the muddy waters of Chinese business [FT]

The Shenzhen stock market is like no other [Bloomberg]

Here comes the Yuan [WSJ]

Why are Chinese markets more prone to booms and busts? [Economist]

Why the Chinese government is hyping the stock market [Quartz]

China reduces import tariffs to boost consumer demand [Emerging Equity]

Chinese stocks are priced for a boom [New Yorker]

A few tell-tale signs that you should short a Chinese stock [Business Insider]

Expect to see Chinese shares in more emerging market equity indices [FT]

It pays to follow Sina's leader [WSJ]

Carl Icahn on Wall Street Week: Part 2

Anthony Scaramucci and Gary Kaminsky's show Wall Street Week this week featured the second part of their interview with Carl Icahn.  We previously posted the first part of their Icahn interview here where he said he was very concerned about high yield bonds.

In the second part of this interview, they talked about how you have to go through the pain of losing money to learn how to become a good investor.  Icahn says you also have to have an "obsessive nature" to be great.

Icahn also extensively walks through his background and how he was a stock picker, got into options, eventually started making arbitrage plays, and eventually to activism.

Embedded below is the video of the second part of Carl Icahn's interview on Wall Street Week:



For more from this show, head to Jim Chanos' recent appearance on Wall Street Week.

Tom Russo's Interview on Wealthtrack

Global value investor Tom Russo of Gardner Russo & Gardner recently appeared on Consuelo Mack's WealthTrack.  Russo mainly focuses on consumer products companies with a global presence and has a long-term holding period.

Embedded below is the video of Russo's interview:



For more from this show, head to Joel Greenblatt's interview as well as Bruce Berkowitz's chat.

Glenview Capital Adds To Manitowoc Position, Files 13D

Larry Robbins' hedge fund firm Glenview Capital has filed a 13D on shares of Manitowoc (MTW).  Per the filing, Glenview now owns 7.06% of the company with over 9.61 million shares.

This means they've increased their position size by 1 million shares since the end of the first quarter.   This is the second time Glenview has added to their stake this year. The filing shows they were out purchasing in late April at weighted average prices of around $19.55.

The 13D contains the standard boilerplate about potentially engaging management, etc.

Readers will recall that activist Carl Icahn successfully pushed for the company to split up.  Manitowoc will split into two: a crane manufacturer and a food service unit.

For more from Glenview, head to Larry Robbins' Sohn Conference presentation.

Per Google Finance, Manitowoc is "a multi-industry, capital goods manufacturer. MTW operates in two markets: Cranes and Related Products (Crane) and Foodservice Equipment (Foodservice). Crane is a provider of engineered lifting equipment for the global construction industry, including lattice-boom cranes, tower cranes, mobile telescopic cranes, and boom trucks. Foodservice is a manufacturer of commercial foodservice equipment serving the ice, beverage, refrigeration, food-preparation, and cooking needs of restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, healthcare, and institutional applications."

Tiger Global Shows eHi Car Services Stake

Chase Coleman's hedge fund Tiger Global has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding shares of eHi Car Services (EHIC). The filing indicates Tiger Global owns 21.5% of the company with over 9.4 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed equity stake as they did not report one as of the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on May 22nd when they entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with the company where they acquired over 7.62 million shares at $6.00 per share.  They also acquired shares from other sellers and entered into agreements for cash-settled total return swaps as well. 

Additionally, Tiger Global has the right to purchase an additional 7,266,666 shares at the same price.  They also entered into a lock-up agreement which prevents them from selling until November 21st, 2015.  You can read all the necessary items regarding their position here.

For more from this hedge fund, you can view other Tiger Global portfolio activity here.

Per Google Finance, eHi is "a China-based holding company, which provides car rentals and car services to both individual customers and corporate clients. The Company utilizes mobile and Internet platforms to provide online to offline (O2O) mobility solutions. The Company operates its car rentals business primarily through its People's Republic of China (PRC) subsidiaries, Shanghai eHi Car Rental Co., Ltd. (eHi Rental) and eHi Auto Services (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (eHi Jiangsu), and their subsidiaries and branches."

Lee Cooperman Discloses Resource America Stake

Omega Advisors' Lee Cooperman has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Resource America (REXI).  Per the filing, Cooperman has disclosed a 11.7% ownership stake in the company with over 2.69 million shares.

This is a new position for Cooperman since the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on May 29th.

For more from Cooperman, head to his latest stock picks from the SALT Conference.

Per Google Finance, Resource America is "a specialized asset management Company, which evaluates, originates, services and manages investment opportunities through its real estate, commercial finance and financial fund management subsidiaries. The Company seeks to develop investment funds for outside investors, for which it provides asset management services, underLong-term management arrangements either through a contract with, or as the manager or general partner of, its sponsored investment funds. It maintains an investment in the funds it sponsors. In its real estate operations, it concentrates on the ownership, operation and management of multifamily and commercial real estate and real estate mortgage loans, including whole mortgage loans, first priority interests in commercial mortgage loans, known as A notes, subordinated interests in first mortgage loans, known as B notes, mezzanine loans, investments in discounted and distressed real estate loans and investments in value-added properties."

Hedge Fund Links ~ 5/29/15

Dalio's Bridgewater: we're not in a bubble [CNBC]

92% of hedge fund capital concentrated among top 11% of funds [ValueWalk]

Interesting interview with AltaRock's Mark Massey [Beyond Proxy]

If you missed it, we previously posted AltaRock's investing principles [Market Folly]

Kyle Bass reveals best trade idea for 2015 [Business Insider]

Stan Druckenmiller sees massive problem caused by aging [Bloomberg]

Tiger Global sees key departures [Reuters]

Blackstone buys minority stake in Magnetar Capital [NYTimes]

David Tepper to back protege's new credit fund [Bloomberg]

Robbins' Glenview closes to new capital [Bloomberg]

Hedge funds close doors facing low returns & investor scrutiny [NYTimes]

All hail Ken Griffin, new hedge fund king [CNBC]

Biotech investors up big amid bubble talk [CNBC]

What We're Reading ~ 5/27/15

On investing in bad businesses [Aswath Damodaran]

10 non-investing quotes with great investing lessons [Clear Eyes Investing]

Kahneman: clients driven by losses, not gains [Think Advisor]

Mary Meeker's 2015 internet trends [Kleiner Perkins]

Qualcomm: the biggest bargain in large cap tech [Capital Observer]

Are declining businesses good shorts? [Young Money]

The ability to focus and make the best move when there are no good moves [Farnam Street]

Big cable is coming for big wireless [Bloomberg]

Charter's deal for Time Warner Cable is classic John Malone [FT]

Meet Altice founder Patrick Drahi [Venture Beat]

Inside the trillion dollar war on packaged food [Fortune]

What makes Danaher such a stock market star? [Bloomberg View]

Goldman on 7 trends that will reshape the auto industry [Bloomberg]

Sergio Marchionne: Detroit's chief instigator [NYTimes]

A look at Markel's Tom Gayner [WSJ]

Tech firms seek ways to fend off activist investors [WSJ]

'The Big Short' movie starts filming [WSJ]

Interview with Brunello Cucinelli, king of cashmere [PI]

NYU Stern's Evaluation Newsletter on Private Market Investing

NYU's Stern School of Business has published its latest student-run investment newsletter: EVALUATION.  The new issue focuses on private market investing and venture capital.

Inside, they interview SoftBank Capital's Matt Krna as well as Union Square Ventures' Brad Burnham.

Additionally, the newsletter features student investment pitches, including: long Masco (MAS), short Youku Tudou (YOKU), and short CAR Inc (0699 HK).

Embedded below is the latest edition of NYU Stern's EVALUATION:



For an insightful past edition, be sure to check out their interview with Marc Lasry as well.

Eminence Capital Discloses Yelp Position

Ricky Sandler's hedge fund firm Eminence Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Yelp (YELP).  Per the filing, Eminence now owns 5.1% of the company with over 3.32 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed equity position for the hedge fund as they did not own any YELP shares as of the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to portfolio activity on May 15th.

For more from this hedge fund, head to Eminence Capital's other recent activity.

Per Google Finance, Yelp "connects people with local businesses. The Company’s users have contributed a total of approximately 52.8 million cumulative reviews of almost every type of local business, from restaurants, boutiques and salons to dentists, mechanics and plumbers. Its platform provides local businesses with a range of free and paid services, which help them to engage with consumers at moment when they are deciding where to spend their money."

ValueAct Capital Increases 21st Century Fox Stake

Jeff Ubben's activist investment firm ValueAct Capital has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding its stake in 21st Century Fox (FOX).  Per the filing, ValueAct now owns 5.5% of the company with over 43.5 million shares.

The filing indicates that ValueAct were out buying the voting share class of FOX on a few days in April and throughout early May.  In total, they purchased over 12.1 additional shares since the end of the first quarter.  The common theme among the purchases is the price: around $32.xx. 

This is notable because this is the second time ValueAct has purchased around these levels, after originally starting their stake in the second quarter of 2014 and then ramping up their stake the following quarter.

Fox shares have largely traded sideways, with ValueAct stepping in to buy when shares have traded below $33 or so.

For more from this fund, check out partner Mason Morfit on their Microsoft position.

Per Google Finance, 21st Century Fox is "a global media and entertainment company. The Company’s Cable Network Programming segment consists of the production and licensing of programming distributed primarily through cable television systems, direct broadcast satellite operators, telecommunication companies and online video distributors. The Television segment consists of the broadcasting of network programming in the United States and the operation of 28 full power broadcast television stations, including 10 duopolies, in the United States."

Jim Chanos on Wall Street Week: Short Selling, Sotheby's, Energy, China & More

Anthony Scaramucci's rebooted version of Wall Street Week continues its streak of impressive guests.  This week, Kynikos Associates founder and noted short seller Jim Chanos appeared on the program.

He talks about how he got involved in the stock market and why short selling is important.

Chanos also touched on why it's important to set capital limits (position sizes) on shorts.  While a short can only go to zero, it can move against you and technically go up infinity.  When a short position moves against you, it actually gets larger in size.  So you have to ask yourself: how much am I willing to bet on this position?  He mentioned 2% to 3% as a typical sized short and never more than 5%.  "Never let one idea carry you out."

As to where he looks for shorts, he likes: flawed accounting, structurally unsound businesses, and businesses on the wrong side of a deep cycle.

Specifically, Chanos noted he is short Sotheby's (BID) as the company has benefited from the easy money generated by quantitative easing worldwide.  While he sees the company as a proxy for measuring how the ultra wealthy are faring (are they buying more art and fine goods or not?), he argues that BID is not a good way to play that because their business model is deteriorating as they compete with Christie's and super dealers.

Chanos also notes he's bearish on the energy space as the integrated oil space has problems.  We've detailed Chanos' presentation at the SALT conference. 

Lastly, he also shared his views on China.


Embedded below is the video of Jim Chanos' appearance on Wall Street Week:



If you missed them, be sure to check out Barry Rosenstein's appearance on Wall Street Week, as well as Carl Icahn's interview and Jeff Smith's appearance as well.  Jeff Gundlach also appeared too.

Michael Novogratz on Wall Street Week

Anthony Scaramucci's rebooted show Wall Street Week recently interviewed Fortress Investment Group's Michael Novogratz.

He talked about how macro trading/investing is a mix of analyzing various inputs and that, "Trusting that intuition is the hardest part of this business."

Novogratz also talked about the activity in the bond market and how some investors are calling for a top.  He thinks the mentality has shifted from "buy the dip mentality to a sell the rip mentality."

He also thinks macro investing will enter some fertile ground soon.  With the Federal Reserve probably raising rates in September, he thinks that will trigger a series of portfolio adjustments.

Embedded below is the video of Novogratz's appearance on Wall Street Week:



Be sure to scroll through interviews with other prominent hedge fund managers on Wall Street Week here.