Shares of activist favorite Twenty-First Century Fox jumped 6.57 percent, to close at $30.48, after CNBC reported that Comcast is in talks to possibly buy several critical assets of the media giant. The stock is the largest U.S. long position of activist hedge fund firm ValueAct Capital Management, which in turn is the company’s second-largest shareholder. In addition, ValueAct founder Jeffrey Ubben has been a director of 21st Century Fox since November 2015. He declined to comment. The stock is also the twelfth-largest U.S. long of Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group.
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Credit Suisse raised its price target on Autodesk from $125 to $140 after attending the software company’s annual user event, where management discussed the company’s product strategies, new features and functionality, and global market opportunity. There was no formal meeting with analysts, however, since the company is in its quiet period. “Our Outperform thesis stems from what we view as significant FCF (free cash flow) potential over the next few years,” Credit Suisse states in a client note. Hedge fund firms Viking Global Investors and PointState Capital are among its largest investors.
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Saba Capital Management sharply cut its stake in three closed-end hedge funds managed by Clough Capital Partners. In three separate regulatory filings Friday, the hedge fund firm headed by Boaz Weinstein said it reduced its stake in Clough Global Equity Fund by roughly two-thirds, to 787,202 shares (or 7.14 percent of the total), cut its stake in Clough Global Dividend and Income by about 69 percent (to 7.79 percent of the total) and pared its position in Clough Global Opportunities by about 64 percent (to 8.33 percent of the total outstanding).
