Shares of hedge fund favorite Snap plunged more than 6 percent, to close at $17.51. According to published reports, the social media company’s stock took a hit after Kylie Jenner said she no longer uses the app. The stock is now down more than 15 percent in the past week alone. This is not good news for the Tiger descendants who have owned the stock since the company was private. In fact, in the fourth quarter Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management boosted its stake to more than 27 million shares, making it the largest shareholder. Glade Brook Capital Partners also continues to hold a sizable stake.
Other hedge fund investors include General Atlantic, which counted the stock as its sixth-largest U.S. long at year-end. One group of investors celebrating the price drop is the short sellers. According to S3 Analytics, Snap is the largest short in the application software sector, with $1.99 billion of short interest. What’s more, short sellers have boosted their exposure since the beginning of January.
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Carl Icahn’s activist campaign against SandRidge Energy has cost the oil and gas exploration company at least $8.2 million, according to Bloomberg. This includes a $3.7 million termination fee the company paid after it cancelled its planned acquisition of Bonanza Creek Energy. It also includes $4.5 million in the fourth quarter for legal and other consulting fees and “related shareholder activism,” according to the report, citing chief accounting officer Mike Johnson in a conference call with analysts.
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Citadel trader Uberto Palomba has left the multistrategy firm after posting losses on a Hungarian trade in January, according to Bloomberg, citing a person with knowledge of the matter. He was a member of Citadel’s successful fixed-income team. He was previously co-head of emerging-markets trading at Goldman Sachs Group.
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Shares of Pandora Media fell more than 7 percent, to $4.52. The streaming music company reported revenues and earnings that beat expectations. However, Credit Suisse lowered its estimates and cut its price target from $6 to $5. It also maintained its neutral rating on the stock.
“As previously noted, we are only at the very beginning of what can result in a wide range of outcomes for both the subscription as well as the advertising business,” the bank told clients in a note Thursday, explaining it remains on the sidelines with the stock. At year-end Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital was the third-largest shareholder, while Tiger Grandcub Slate Path Capital was the sixth-largest shareholder.
