Federal investigators continue to turn up the heat on Steven Cohen’s Stamford, Connecticut-based SAC Capital Advisors. According to a new report, three executives at the heavily scrutinized hedge fund firm have received subpoenas from the government. The targets are Thomas Conheeney, a nearly 15-year SAC veteran and the firm’s president since 2008; Steven Kessler, compliance chief since 2005; and Phillipp Villhauer, SAC’s head of trading. All three are said to work closely with Cohen, who previously received his own subpoena. Meanwhile, a separate report notes that SAC lawyers met with federal prosecutors in April to make the case for not bringing insider trading charges against the firm or Cohen.
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Ken Griffin’s Chicago-based Citadel Securities is among a group of securities firms that are suing the Chicago Board Options Exchange Inc. and four other exchanges, alleging that they assessed improper fees on millions of options trades over a seven-year period. The firms, which also include New York-based Group One Trading, Chicago-based Ronin Capital and Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania-based Susquehanna International Group, have been requesting the exchanges to be reimbursed. Citadel Securities, the market-making arm of hedge fund firm Citadel, says on its website that it trades about 14 percent of U.S. consolidated volume in equities and 19 percent of U.S.-listed equity options volume.
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O. Andreas Halvorsen’s Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund Viking Capital was vindicated Thursday for taking an initial stake of nearly 10.5 million shares in Hewlett-Packard in the first quarter, the largest new position established by any investor. Shares of the computer maker surged more than 17 percent on more than triple its average daily volume after the company forecast better-than-expected earnings for the third fiscal quarter.
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Hedge fund favorite Dollar Tree was a standout performer on Thursday, surging nearly 4 percent on an otherwise lousy day for stocks. Stephen Mandel Jr.’s Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund firm Lone Pine Capital is the retailer’s fourth largest shareholder, with more than 12 million shares at the end of the first quarter, while his fellow Tiger Cub Blue Ridge Capital, headed by John Griffin and based in New York, owned 6.5 million shares. Eric Mindich’s New York-based hedge fund firm Eton Park Capital Management owned 5 million shares, while Boston-based Highfields Capital Management held 4.5 million shares after scooping up more than 2.1 million, respectively.
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Herbalife resumed its climb, moving up another 2.55 percent to $48.25 on Thursday. On the other hand, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, another high profile short touted by Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn more than 1 ½ years ago, slumped more than 4 percent to $72.97.
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One third of investors in hedge funds plan to boost their allocation to the funds, while another 47 percent plan to maintain their exposure. Just one fifth plan to decrease their allocation throughout 2013, according to a new study by London-based research firm Preqin.
